


Jim's New Dad: Troll Edition??

by scrawly_times



Series: Kanjibara AU [1]
Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons), Trollhunters - Daniel Kraus & Guillermo del Toro
Genre: Barbara Is Best Mom, Crack Treated Seriously, Draal is concern and everyone is confuse, F/M, Fluff and Crack, Found Family, It's pretty self indulgent, Kanjigar gets turned human instead of dying, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Toby is part of the Lake Family fuck you, WHY ISN'T FOUND FAMILY A TAG, and he has a concussion, i dunno what else to tag this as, rated for gratuitous medical ACCURACIES
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:07:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 31,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22807585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scrawly_times/pseuds/scrawly_times
Summary: Apparently no Trollhunter has ever nearly died from sunlight before. Kanjigar is the first. Fortunately there's some sort of fail safe and his fight with Bular did not kill him!Except now he's fleshy and vulnerable and has to figure out what to do about the humans who now know way more than they should about magic armor and trolls. Concussions make you talk a lot, apparently. Kanjigar wishes he wasn't such a blabbermouth when impaired. Barbara wants to hit trolls upside the heads until they understand what "potential severe brain damage" is. Jim is excited, Toby is afraid but also excited. Draal just wants to know why his father is small.(Barbara also wishes Kanjigar would put on a shirt, if only so she stops staring.)
Relationships: Barbara Lake/Kanjigar, background blarghy
Series: Kanjibara AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1650070
Comments: 177
Kudos: 289





	1. How Many Times Can Kanjigar Pass Out In One Chapter

**Author's Note:**

> within a Single hour of posting my shitpost ideas for this AU yesterday tumblr blew the FUCK up and how can I NOT indulge them 
> 
> Typically I tend to write Trollish in italics, for future note. This chapter has some descriptions of Kanjigar's injuries and I went a lil nuts with it so be careful friendos!

Kanjigar had not expected to survive falling from the bridge. 

He _certainly_ had not expected to wake up with a pounding headache to two human whelps crouched over him. 

"Hello? Mister Shirtless dude?" The small, rounder one was biting his lip worriedly. "Are you okay??" He poked Kanjigar’s face. 

"Don't touch him, Tobes, those burns look serious!" The skinnier one in blue was leaning over with his fingers to Kanjigar's neck for some reason. "He looks like he's bleeding, I’ll call for help-" 

_"No!"_ Kanjigar's hand flew up to grab the human's arm before he could stop himself, then he cringed and moaned in pain. His arm felt like there was a terrible _heat_ covering it and burning with every twitch. His arm fell back to the ground uselessly. 

"Woah! Hey, take it easy man, you look roughed up-" Both the children backed away nervously as Kanjigar got to his feet. 

He tried to, anyways, pain near crippling him. What had _happened_ to him? He'd never felt pain so sharp or so _deeply_ before. His left arm and face felt as if they were soaked in lava and his whole body felt abused in a way it hadn't since he was a whelp first learning to fight. His entire back and chest screamed in agony with every breath. 

There was a _throbbing_ pain in the back of his head and a warm wetness soaking his head and neck. He felt… heavy. Yet weightless at the same time. Had he taken a blow to the head? It was difficult to hit a troll hard enough to impair thought, but it was possible. 

What _happened?_ Kanjigar didn't make it to his feet and instead slumped weakly on the one arm not burning in pain, halfway propped up and staring dazedly around him. 

"Sir? Sir can you hear me?" The human's voice wobbled in and out of his hearing in a way that wasn't from the bridge's echo. 

Bridge… the bridge! 

"Bular!" Kanjigar was on his feet before his body could protest, sword and armor summoned just as fast. He didn't stay standing for long as his legs refused to hold him up. 

The armor dissolved before he even hit the ground, thankfully Daylight as well before he stabbed himself with his own sword. That would have been the most embarrassing end to a Trollhunter yet. Even worse than Unkar the Unfortunate. 

The landing still hurt enough that Kanjigar’s vision went white for a few moments and he cried out. 

"What the hell!" 

"Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh-" 

Kanjigar's head turned slowly towards the human whelps. They looked torn between rushing to help him and keeping their distance. But not, strangely enough, running away. 

"Sir, can you understand me? I'm going to call for help, okay?" The blue one held his hand out as if Kanjigar was a frightened animal. His other hand reached behind him towards a pocket. 

"No- do not-" Kanjigar coughed with a wheeze as his back _spiked_ into agony. "Do not- call any other humans-" He tried to get up again. He wasn't entirely sure why, only that he needed to reach cover- 

Cover. 

Kanjigar looked up at the two whelps. 

"Sir, I think you have a severe concussion-" The blue one began, hands still up. 

Both the humans were standing in clear sunlight. 

Kanjigar looked up and was blinded by the light of a full sun rising in the sky. He stared at it blankly for a moment. 

"I don't think he's home Jimbo," 

"I'm calling 911-" 

Kanjigar was laying in the sunlight, warmth soaking into him. 

"Dude! Did you see that magic armor?! And the SWORD?! Mister Shirtless Magic Dude said no people, so no people! I don't want him getting mad at us! You've learned a lot of first aid from your mom, we can probably patch him up!" 

"What are we supposed to do then Tobes, drag him five blocks back to my living room?! He looks like he's like two hundred pounds minimum!" 

Kanjigar's hand drifted to the wet heat on the back of his head. He touched thin liquid that was half dried and sticky. 

His hand, when he looked at it, was covered in red ooze that could only be human blood. Even if his nose was strangely numb he could still smell its coppery reek. 

The fact that his hand was tan and had five fingers did not escape him either. 

"Oh." Kanjigar said pleasantly. Surely he was so dreadfully injured he was hallucinating, delirious with pain. The end for him would come soon if he were so far gone already. 

Everything went black.

* * *

Kanjigar did not expect to wake up again. The last time was vague and fuzzy in his head, as if from a dream. 

He opened his eyes and saw a strange room that he certainly did not recognize, blood and sharp chemical smells strong in his nose. He vaguely heard a sharp voice talking rapidly from a nearby room. 

The first course of action was to try sitting up, and Kanjigar did not succeed in his attempt. His back hurt far too much and his head swam. He only fell back onto his side with a groan. 

The voices nearby stopped. 

"Mister Shirtless Magic Dude!" A short human whelp ran around a corner. He was vaguely familiar. "Please please _please_ use your magic sword or armor so we can convince Jim's mom we're not crazy!" 

"Toby!" A human woman followed him, a sharp look of reproach on her face. "Stop this at once!" That was the voice of a disappointed mother. 

Kanjigar stared at the assembled humans blankly as another whelp peeked out from behind the woman. 

"Are you okay?" The taller whelp asked nervously. "You lost a lot of blood…" 

"Jim, Toby, go to the kitchen." The women's voice was sharp as a knife and the two whelps scattered in an instant. She looked exhausted and tense but still smiled gently as she approached carefully. "Hello, I'm Doctor Barbara Lake. I'm _very_ sorry if my son and his friend caused you any trouble. What's your name?" She didn't get much closer than a few feet, respectfully keeping her distance. 

He stared at her in confusion for a moment and then blinked slowly. "...Kanjigar." 

"Alright, Mr. Kanjigar." She seemed oddly calm speaking to him. "What do you remember before waking up?" 

Kanjigar frowned lightly. That was quite the question. His head was… so fuzzy. 

"I was… fighting." His mouth felt like it was an entirely different entity, so detached from his brain. "I fell into the sunlight. I…" He hadn't expected to wake up outside of the void. 

Vague flashes of the whelps entered his mind a bit late and he froze up. 

Kanjigar was laying on his side and held his left hand up to his face. Five fingers, wrapped in bandages and burning somewhat less than before. He followed the bandages up his arm to tan skin. 

"Oh." Kanjigar was very lightheaded. 

Everything went black. Again.

* * *

Barbara was very, _very_ mad. 

And stressed, and tired. It was probably making her more cranky than she needed to be. 

Jim didn't wake her up after late night shifts unless it was an emergency, much less call her when he was supposed to be in school and begging for her to come get him with a terrifying desperation in his voice. She'd been out the front door before she'd even realized she'd forgotten her glasses, shoes, and car keys. 

Dragging a burnt, bloodied, and shirtless _mountain_ of a man into her back seat and back to her house was not something she expected to be doing today. Jim and Toby were in a panic and _very_ firm on the fact that the stranger hadn't wanted to be taken to the hospital before he'd passed out. 

Barbara didn't know if she wanted to listen to them but they were acting so… bizarre. She gave in with the conviction that if it was more than her at home first-aid kit couldn't handle she'd call an ambulance. A person’s wishes for medical care were important. If he didn’t want to be taken to a hospital she would respect that he had his reasons and hope her boys weren’t messing around. 

Getting him inside and onto the couch was another bout of exercise she was in no way prepared for on four hours of sleep. 

When Barbara started examining him she was immediately concerned. The back of his head had a large lump and scrape that was bleeding excessively. Typical for a head wound, but it looked like he'd been bleeding for a while and the lump was swollen more than she liked. 

She cleaned it up, put a patch over the scrapes with a dab of antibiotic cream, and cracked an ice pack to rest on the lump. Hopefully that nasty swelling would go down. 

His burns were… odd and strangely textured for what looked like second degree burns. Severely cracking, as well, with blisters forming and starting to swell. Pus leaked from the cracks and cuts. The odd burns covered the entire left side of his face and part of his neck, along with his entire left arm from the elbow down. 

And she meant the _entirety_ of his arm, even the underside and creases of his fingers. Almost as if he'd stuck his hand into a space heater and it had burned evenly around. It was _bizarre._

Fortunately the burns didn't seem to be too _deep,_ not deep enough that his left eye had much damage. It looked a bit red but the pupil responded well when she shined her pen light. Probably irritated but relatively unharmed. 

Barbara applied burn cream to every spot of reddened skin, bandages to the open sores on his face, and wrapped his entire arm up so not an inch was exposed. Risk of infection was high with burns. 

The biggest worry, to Barbara, was the array of slowly darkening bruises on his back. His skin was rather tanned, meaning it was difficult to notice, but there were red patches on his back that were starting to darken. That speed of bruising either meant thin skin (unlikely, with darker skin) or very _severe_ bruising. When she examined them and pressed down lightly with her fingers he hissed and his breath hitched even as he remained unconscious. 

Barbara was _highly_ concerned about the possibility that he had cracked ribs. When she listened to his slow breathing with her stethoscope she heard a faint wheeze and small hitches. 

He seemed to be in a fair amount of pain in general. Even unconscious, possibly from a concussion, his face was tight with pain. When he woke up she’d ask him if he had any allergies and give him some Tylenol. 

Barbara stood up and breathed for a moment, allowing herself to sink out of the professional mindset she'd reflexively fallen into. He didn’t seem to be in outright danger right now. She could take a moment to destress. 

Except now there was a strange shirtless man unconscious on her couch. 

He was over six feet tall, surely, with enough muscle and padding that he almost didn't fit on the couch. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the piercing in the septum of his nose, the facial tattoos. She was a bit sad that the burns had ruined the tattoos on one side, the symmetry was probably important. They were crisp, neat, immaculate. They didn't have the look of an older tattoo… probably culturally significant, to be so sharp and touched up. That spoke of care and long term attention. 

Barbara’s eyes followed the tattoos along his shoulder, dipping into his biceps. There were swirls along his right lower arm and she recalled seeing misshapen swirls on his left where blisters swole them out of shape. What a shame. Sometimes burn scars could make it tricky to get tattoos done in the future. She hoped they didn't scar too badly. 

Probably the oddest thing she noticed was the sheer number of scars on his body. Most of them faded and pale, but _everywhere._ And that kilt… it looked like real leather. Real _tooled_ leather, the kind that cost hundreds of dollars in this day and age. 

There was a very fancy looking watch on the coffee table, hooked to a chain that had been around his neck. She'd taken it off to avoid it irritating the burn on his neck. When Barbara picked it up her whole _hand_ had buzzed as if she'd run it across a static TV. It had glowed blue, slightly, but she was more concerned with the leaking blister she'd pulled it away from at the time. 

Barbara shook her head when she realized she was staring at the looped tattoos on his pectorals far closer than she should. This was what she got for working late and being woken up too early, her mind wandered in inappropriate ways. She was _not_ allowed to touch the handsome man in an unprofessional manner even if he looked straight out of a trashy romance novel. 

"Jim, Toby." Barbara rubbed her forehead and suppressed a yawn. 

By the time she'd turned around Jim already had a cup of coffee in her hands and she laughed quietly. "Come on, let's talk where we won't be waking our _guest_ up." The tense note in her voice made them freeze. 

She sat on the stool and drank her coffee for a bit first, trying to get her words together. The boys looked ready to vibrate out of their _skins._

"So. Which of you wants to explain why there's an absolute stranger passed out on my couch with possible broken ribs and almost definitely a concussion." Her voice was tense. 

They _exploded_ into such a ramble of words she couldn't even begin to understand. Something about magic, armor, a sword?! 

"Jim. Tobias." Barbara tried to restrain her anger, knowing it may be simply because she was tired and cranky. "Let me reiterate: there is a _stranger._ In my house. On my couch. Heavily injured. And instead of calling 911, like you two are more than sensible enough to do, you want to take him _home?"_ Barbara's sleep deprived brain thought that was a very hysterical line of thought but she pushed it aside. "You should both know better than this! What happened to stranger danger?" 

The boys traded looks. 

"You don't understand Mom, I tried to call for an ambulance and he _freaked._ He totally panicked and said not to-" 

"And then he stood up and went 'Boo- lah!' and glowed and there was this magic around him for a minute and he had a _sword-"_ Toby's ramble was cut off by Jim's hand, her son giving her a sheepish look. 

"I don't believe you two!" They both shrunk down under her glare. "This isn't a game! This man's life could be in danger, with a bump that size-!" 

A groan from the living room distracted her and she immediately went to check on her unwitting patient. She could lecture the boys later. 

Mr. Kanjigar seemed almost completely incoherent. He hardly reacted to her or her questions, unfocused and eyes not seeing her. He mumbled something about a fight and then passed out again. 

Barbara's mouth tightened. He almost definitely had a severe concussion and she needed to get him to the ER immediately so he could have scans done to check for brain damage. 

With added blood loss this was _dangerous._

Not to mention him talking about a fight. Was he a criminal? She didn't want to criminalize tattoos, but he was rather incriminating looking. Quite frankly with all his injuries he looked like he'd been _pushed off_ the bridge the boys had found him on and she was concerned in so many ways Barbara's brain felt like it was going to start smoking. 

"I'm calling an ambulance." Barbara snapped. 

The boys burst into protests and she brushed them aside on her way to the kitchen. Her phone wasn't there and she realized she must have left her phone in the car in her rush. 

She'd have a _long_ talk with the boys about appropriate responses to emergency situations, but _later._

"Mom, please, listen!" Jim begged. "We're not kidding-" 

Between the children yelling and Barbara searching for her phone none of them noticed Kanjigar's unfocused eyes snap open. 

Then noticed when he was standing up and yelling. 

"BULAR!" 

Barbara screamed when the amulet on the coffee table flew at him and turned into a suit of armor, a huge sword clutched in both hands. 

The coffee table shattered as the sword was slammed into it, Barbara pulling Jim and Toby away from the madman before he could do anything to the boys. 

"Where…" Kanjigar swayed on his feet, face scrunched up in pain and unfocused. "Humans?" He looked at them as if he didn't recognize them. 

Barbara _hated_ dealing with violent concussion patients. Half the time they had no idea what they were doing but they could cause serious damage to themselves or those around them. Not of their own violation either. 

And that was when they didn't have _magic teleporting swords._

The sword disappeared into sparkles of light, Kanjigar looking down at his hands as if they were foreign to him. 

"...Kanjigar?" Barbara said cautiously, wishing she had some more muscle right now. And possibly a weapon. 

He looked up at her and blinked slowly. A lost, pleading expression filled his face before he crumpled to the floor. 

"What just happened?!" Toby hissed behind her. 

Barbara swallowed dryly, mind going into professional mode immediately. 

"Severe concussion, Toby. I doubt he'll even remember waking up. He may have several more episodes like that before he's really fully conscious." She felt like the outburst hadn't even happened, it was all so _fast,_ taking barely a _minute_ before it was over. Her thoughts were still racing and trying to acknowledge it. 

But the broken coffee table and the splinters all over her living room said plenty. 

"So um… still gonna call for that ambulance..?" Jim said cautiously. 

"Not if he's going to have that reaction where people might be in the way instead of a coffee table." Barbara said numbly, not really paying attention. The boys both winced. 

Barbara took a long look at the man passed out on her floor and took a deep breath. 

Well, someone had to get him back on the couch and she wasn't about to have the teenagers do that task when he was clearly a threat. She really needed to start doing some exercise if this was going to keep happening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So in retrospect like, the majority of this chapter is just describing his injuries from Barbara's perspective but don't worry things Happen in the next chapter
> 
> Also: concussions are nasty business! If you're repeatably unable to stay conscious after a blow to the head you could have some Bad Stuff goin on. Also, it makes for funny reveals when Kanjigar's pretty much got zero filter


	2. Take It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kanjigar's awake now and he talks to Barbara some

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very tired of going over this chapter ten million times trying to edit it to my liking, I am tired and writing weird and I WILL make that everyone else's problem 
> 
> TAKE IT

Kanjigar woke up to a dark room, earthy smells around him and the sound of a crackling furnace echoing in his ears. 

He felt… tired. And confused. Heavy. Like he'd been sleeping for a long while but not long enough. 

Kanjigar pushed himself up slowly. He felt like… like he'd gotten hungover and then brawled half of Trollmarket. Everything cracked when he moved, accompanied by some rather severe aches and pains from his back. 

He wheezed and clutched his chest. It hurt just to breathe. 

Memories filtered in slightly here or there. A fight, sunrise, Bular. 

That… that was it… that was all he could remember. 

Kanjigar looked around for some clues as to his whereabouts but his head spun when he turned it too fast. He held a hand up to his head, reaching up to his horn to grasp it and steady himself. 

His hand found hair instead. 

Kanjigar froze, chest in pain from the shocked hitch in his breathing. 

He grabbed the long hair and tugged. His head pulled in an unusual way. It actually hurt a bit. 

What. 

Kanjigar pulled the long strings of hair in front of his eyes. Black hair was attached to his scalp. His hand had tan skin with five fingers. 

Kanjigar took a  _ deep  _ breath even though it hurt. He held it for ten seconds and then let it out slowly. He repeated this for about a minute until he felt less dizzy and like he wanted to scream. 

The troll turned human slowly pulled his legs out from underneath the furs covering him. No, not furs, human blankets 

Kanjigar stood up slowly and hated the way everything hurt so  _ sharply.  _ All of his senses were dulled except for  _ touch.  _ He could  _ feel  _ so much more than he was used to and that included the sensation of  _ pain.  _ Like the stone he was usually made of dulled the pain before he could feel it. 

He limped and stumbled across the darkened room towards a mirror that looked about the right size. Kanjigar almost didn't want to look but he grit his teeth and stepped in front of it. 

It was…  _ bizarre.  _ Moving in front of a mirror and watching a human move instead of the troll he was used to seeing. 

When Kanjigar moved to examine his face he was surprised to see the slowly healing burns on his face. He vaguely remembered being in the sun… An odd film covered them, reeking of medicine even to an insensitive human nose when he smelled it. 

He tilted his head back and forth. Strangely enough his nose piercing had been shrunk and stayed. When he fiddled with it, the tugging was so  _ different _ with his higher sense of touch he released it immediately. 

Kanjigar's kilt had shrunk too, thankfully, and his carvings seemed to have translated into the inked markings he'd seen on humans occasionally. 

"What sort of magic..?" Kanjigar mumbled. 

"You're awake!" A female voice made him jump and Kanjigar whirled around. 

This of course immediately made his head spin and he stumbled sideways. There was a lot of clattering as Kanjigar stumbled over boxes and tripped, finally catching himself on one halfway to the ground. 

He looked up with wide eyes to the human standing on a staircase, hand held out and looking worried. After a moment of back and forth staring he decided his dignity was as damaged as it could be and that his dizziness and pain were too severe to bother getting up. Kanjigar lowered himself the rest of the way and sat on the ground with a groan. 

"Hello, again, ah… are you feeling alright?" She walked down the stairs and sat on the bottom step, a cup held in her hand and clutching it with thin fingers. 

"I'm fine." Kanjigar frowned and watched her warily. 

"I doubt it, Mr. Kanjigar, considering you've been in and out of it for two days now." The human laughed nervously. He tensed up. How did she..? "I know your name because you told me it at one point, in between episodes of semi consciousness." Her fingers tapped across the sides of her cup and she stared into its insides like it held the secrets to the universe. "Along with summoning magic armor and a sword, destroying my coffee table and some christmas decorations." 

Kanjigar groaned and covered his face. Of course. "I… do not remember this." 

"I don't blame you," She seemed like she was still afraid of him regardless. "You have a severe concussion. Mood swings and lashing out is to be expected, even now that you seem more conscious." She swallowed nervously. "Now, um… could I… get an explanation for the magic stuff?" 

Kanjigar watched her carefully, feeling like his head was still swimming. "I don't believe I'm recovered enough to be thinking properly." That slightly clumsy sentence was probably evidence enough. "Who are you? How did I come to be here?" 

"Barbara Lake, I'm a doctor." She took a long drink from her cup. "My son and his friend found you beneath a bridge in pretty bad shape. Honestly? I'm surprised you managed to get up at all. You've got bruised ribs, at the least. Cracked or broken at the worst. And a bad concussion with blood loss on top of it- shoot, hold on." 

Barbara stood up and rushed up the stairs. Kanjigar watched her go, feeling like he should stop her in case she was calling for assistance. But he didn't want to deal with the hassle of getting up. 

...perhaps he was injured more than he'd thought. Even though the pain was crippling, he'd dealt with worse plenty of times before and fought to be allowed his normal duties. 

"Here," Barbara came back downstairs with a glass of water, another glass with orange liquid, and a steaming bowl on a tray. Had she taken very long? Kanjigar felt like it hadn't been that long. "I got some broth and water into you a few times but you're probably starving and you should try getting your fluids back up." She set the tray on the box he was leaning against and backed away cautiously. 

Kanjigar picked up the glass of water first and sipped it for a while before drinking deeper. Best not to make himself sick. The water tasted… different. He'd never tasted tasteless water before and he couldn't tell if it was because it was so clear or because human tongues couldn't taste the minerals naturally in water. 

The glass  _ clinked _ sharply against his teeth and he winced, rubbing his jaw loosely. Right… he'd better keep in mind that humans didn't eat glass or metals. 

The orange liquid was sweet and bizarre on his taste buds. He somewhat recognized the hint to it but he didn't think it was something trolls typically ate. 

"What is this?" He swished the half empty cup around, staring down at the liquid. It occurred to him that he probably should be more concerned about being poisoned but he couldn't find it in himself to care. 

"Orange juice?" The human said oddly, looking confused. 

"Orange juice." Kanjigar nodded. A bit sweet but he liked the taste enough. "And the stew?" 

"Um… chicken noodle soup, homemade." She watched him with wide eyes as he picked the bowl up and sniffed it. 

Damned human nose was barely useful at all, though the aroma still made his stomach grumble. He was suddenly very aware that he indeed hadn't eaten in two days. 

He liked the taste and the chunky bits, though he bit down on the spoon and hurt his teeth more times than he'd like to admit. Kanjigar finished the bowl in record time and wondered if human custom allowed licking the bowl. 

"I can um… get you more?" 

He jumped. He actually  _ jumped  _ even though he knew the human was there watching him and should have expected her commentary. 

"I feel wrong." Kanjigar frowned. She was a doctor, perhaps she had the answer. "I cannot focus, and find myself acting… differently. I should not be so calm with this situation." He motioned around him. 

"Probably the concussion." Barbara's hands clasped and a familiar professionalism echoed in her posture. "Confusion, mood swings, changes in personality, lapses in judgment skills, dizziness… they're all side effects." 

Kanjigar considered that for a minute. "What, exactly, is a concussion?" He asked slowly. "And is it permanent?" It sounded somewhat like when a troll got knocked senseless. But any force worse than that and a troll would shatter rather than suffer further consequences. 

"A concussion is typically the result of a hard knock to the head, I'd say the lump on the back of yours." Barbara nodded. "It's not actually from the force of the blow, but the brain floats inside the skull in a bunch of fluids. Blows to the head can cause the brain to bounce around inside the fluid and hit the inside of the skull, bruising it." 

Kanjigar's eyes widened the further she went on. That sounded… far more serious than he'd expected, connecting with what little he knew about human anatomy. 

"Don't worry, the concussion itself isn't permanent, but you should  _ really _ stay down and rest." She frowned, hands fidgeting. "I'm actually rather concerned, you've shown symptoms of a pretty _ severe  _ concussion. I'm hoping you don't have brain damage but it's hard to say. If it weren't for the magic sword thing I would have taken you to the hospital to get you scanned. And an IV." 

Kanjigar's blood ran cold as she rambled. "And… if there's damage?" 

Her fingers squeezed together. "I'm not a specialist, I can't really say for sure. But… bad side effects in the long term, as in the rest of your life.  _ Please  _ be careful." 

That was… something to think of. Kanjigar could barely recall how he'd gotten these injuries in the first place. He distantly recalled the fight with Bular but not its ending. 

Certainly not how he could have ended up at the bottom of the canal as a human. 

"Humans are so fragile, it's amazing you've come so far." Kanjigar muttered, flexing his human hand and watching the five fingers curiously. That extra finger felt odd. 

"We're surprisingly durable when it comes down to it," Barbara tried to joke faintly but her voice petered out. “You um… you make it sound like you’re not human.” 

“Not ordinarily, no.” Kanjigar laughed slightly and then stopped.  _ “Bushigal.  _ I… did not mean to say that.” 

“It’s… it’s alright, maybe you should um… get some more rest.” 

Kanjigar looked up at where the human was beginning to stand up again. “...thank you, Barbara.” He pronounced it awkwardly but believed he said it right. 

“Not a problem at all, Kanjigar.” She slumped slightly with a small smile and closed the door quietly.

* * *

Kanjigar didn't expect to fall asleep so fast. Apparently this brain injury business was rather exhausting. The next time he woke up he sat up slowly and carefully to avoid becoming dizzy. 

He appeared to be in a basement, since the only exit he could see was up the stairs. He would never fit through the tiny clouded window. 

The door at the top of the stairs creaked open. 

“You’re awake!” Barbara said, sounding relieved. “Do you remember the last time we talked? It was about a few hours ago...” 

“Yes.” Kanjigar nodded, making an irritated face at the hair falling in his face. He tried to brush it away. 

“That’s good, it means the worst is probably over. So…” She began walking down the stairs carefully. “Were you serious about the… not human, part?” 

Kanjigar looked at her judgingly. She looked more curious than anything else. Slightly wary, but calmer. 

“...normally, yes. I am not human.” 

"What are you… normally?" Barbara sat down on the foot of the stairs again, a small block held in her hands and fidgeting with it nervously. 

"A troll." Kanjigar admitted. She'd already done so much, taking care of him in her own home. Keeping him from being found by other humans. He believed she deserved the truth. Even if his judgement was perhaps skewed at the moment. At the least, she needed to know what she had taken into her home. "Sunlight turns us to stone, so we typically live underground." 

"How'd you get turned into a human?" Her expression furrowed. 

"I'm not sure." Kanjigar was sitting up in a nest, injured, and for the first time he wanted to lay down rather than get up. He was so tired. "I recall a fight with Bular, and then… somewhere near sunrise things get fuzzy." 

"Bular?" She sat up straighter. "You said that name often, understandable if you were fighting… why, though?" Barbara looked genuinely concerned.

"Bular is the son of Gunmar, a despicable Gumm-Gumm who seeks to destroy humankind." Kanjigar said seriously, looking her in the eyes. "Do not fear, the mantle of Trollhunter has been passed down for centuries to me, to hunt down such evil creatures and protect both trolls and humans alike." He blinked and stared down at his chest where his amulet was  _ not  _ hanging. No wait, there it was, sitting on the blankets next to him. "I… do not think I expected to survive that fight, however. Bular has killed many Trollhunters in the past. That I am left with such an injury, in strange  _ human  _ form… perhaps the amulet should be passed along." He grew remorseful towards the end, good hand grasping the amulet. 

What use would he be when he could not so much as stand without swaying? Could not  _ think _ soundly? Could not fight or hold up against another troll- 

Barbara's hand covered his and he realized she'd crossed the distance of the room to sit on the side of his nest. 

"I'm sure you'll be alright, Kanjigar." She smiled reassuringly. "Rest, be careful, and try not to exacerbate your injuries. If you really are some… magical troll knight turned into a human," Her laughter was a little hysterical. "I'm sure you're tougher than the average person. You’d have to be, to have survived this Bular in the first place." 

Kanjigar was struck by a sense of wonder at the graciousness presented to him. "You are… remarkably calm about this." 

"I've had the entire past two, three days to come to terms with the magic armor and sword part. I've had all  _ kinds _ of scenarios running through my head about the  _ rest _ of it. And truthfully, I'm still faintly hoping it's just your concussion talking." Barbara laughed again slightly. "But in any case, I'd like to know if there's anyone I can contact for you, to let them know you're alright." 

Oh no. 

Kanjigar rubbed his face with his good hand. "Vendel is right, I'm an idiot." He hadn't even  _ thought _ about Trollmarket, those who may be concerned about their Trollhunter's status. 

"You're concussed, idiocy is just par for the course." The human patted his shoulder. "Is this Vendel someone I should..?" 

"No!" Kanjigar said too quickly. Then he reconsidered and hung his head. "...perhaps, if only because he may provide some insight into how this transformation has occurred. I do not know how he will react to this, though, or how to even get a message to him. But my friends should know, and…" Kanjigar trailed off. He dreaded Draal seeing him in such a state. He dreaded  _ anyone  _ seeing him in such a state, but especially his  _ son.  _ "My son should know." He didn't want him to, but Draal should at least be aware of the situation Kanjigar was in. If only so he didn't worry. 

Deya, everyone probably thought he was  _ dead. _ By now he had been missing for  _ days. _

"You have a son?" 

"Draal." Kanjigar said before he could consider staying silent, unable to help the pride in his face. "He is a fierce warrior, far more skilled than I was at his age." Kanjigar laughed. "A bit too reckless, and headstrong, but that's expected of a troll of his age."

"Sounds like a teenager alright." Barbara laughed. "Jim's always getting in accidents on his bike and Toby's never far behind him." 

"Your children?" Kanjigar tilted his head, somewhat recalling those names. 

"Oh heavens, only Jim." She laid a hand over her chest and shook her head. "Toby might as well be my other son though, as much as he follows Jim around. I've gotten used to two teenagers in the house more than one." 

"Draal's never had many friends," Kanjigar said morosely. "I feel as if he's taken my responsibilities onto himself half the time. He acts as if  _ my  _ job as Trollhunter is bound to be his as well." He squeezed the amulet tightly and looked into its blue glow. "I would give _ anything _ to keep such a burden from my son's shoulders." 

"I know how that is." Barbara sighed. "Jim cooks, cleans, takes care of the house… he takes care of  _ me,  _ just because my job at the hospital keeps me working so much… he's too young to have so much on his shoulders." Barbara noticed how seriously Kanjigar was watching her and she blushed, brushing her hair behind her ear. "Maybe it's not the same as your 'troll' stuff, but-" 

Kanjigar shook his head. "No, it is alright. Jim sounds like a very caring son. Any mother would be proud to have a son so dedicated." He nodded. 

"And Draal sounds like he just wants to make you proud, follow your legacy." Barbara said. 

Kanjigar paused and took a slow breath. "I just want him to be safe." 

"That's all a parent ever wants." Barbara smiled softly. She turned her eyes to the little block in her hands. "My son wants to see you. He and Toby have been worried." Barbara quirked an odd smile at him. "I told them they weren't allowed to stay in the house with a stranger who summons swords and breaks my furniture, so they've been staying at Toby's house." Kanjigar coughed apologetically. 

"Sorry, about that. I swear I would never do harm to you or your son, it is my sacred duty to protect humans." He bowed his head. "And I also owe you a great debt, for caring for me in my time of need." 

"Thank Jim and Toby, then, since they're the ones who found you." She smiled. "Whether my boys found you underneath a bridge or you were brought into my emergency room, it's  _ my  _ sacred duty to help anyone in need." She paraphrased with a laugh. 

Kanjigar chuckled. "Then I owe them my gratitude." 

"For dinner, then." She stood up, glancing at that little block in her hands again. "They're at school right now but when they get back in a few hours if you're feeling up to it you can come upstairs and join us for dinner. I'll leave you to get more rest." 

"Very well." Kanjigar laid down and watched as she went up the stairs and closed the door.

* * *

Barbara knew she should be more careful. Strange magic stranger saying he wasn't normally human and talking about evil trolls. 

She still hadn't removed the coffee table. Jim had cleaned up the splinters, but he left the large pieces alone the same as her. To remind herself that it had  _ happened.  _

To remind herself that in some capacity Kanjigar was dangerous. 

But when she finally got a chance to speak to him, concussed or not, Barbara felt like she could trust him. She wanted to help him. Right now he was lost and confused, injured and facing difficulties he'd never had to deal with before. If he was telling the truth he was in a whole  _ world _ of new experiences. Every expression on his face and word out of his mouth said he was  _ confused _ about everything around him. 

Maybe it was Barbara's mothering instinct. Maybe it was Jim's constant drive for something  _ more  _ that she knew he'd gotten from her. Maybe it was hearing real love and pride for one's child in his voice. Maybe it was just… the way Kanjigar's eyes said he wasn't supposed to be there. 

Barbara had a feeling that part of his constant confusion was because he hadn't _ expected _ to come out of that fight alive. She'd seen it in patients' eyes before. People who were expecting to die sometimes took a while for it to really click that they hadn't. Hopefully for him he would come to terms with it soon. 

Whatever the end reason, Barbara had already made a decision. Her mind had been made days ago when a madman with a sword had broken her coffee table and looked to someone,  _ anyone  _ for  _ help.  _

She was a doctor. She'd wanted to be from a very young age. Barbara had always felt a natural urge and need to care for people. Right now Kanjigar was her patient. Human or not, she would take care of him however she could. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Solid hc that trolls have superior senses in everything except touch. Humans don't have the best sense of touch out there, but it's certainly better than a troll's.
> 
> Kanjigar's heavily concussed and not exactly super lucid so it's the reason behind any OOCness. Also, I can't help but sprinkle in that heavy medical knowledge here and there on how dangerous a severe concussion can be yay 
> 
> IN THIS HOUSE WE LOVE AND SUPPORT TOBY, WHO IS THE SECOND LAKE SON, YOU CAN FIGHT ME ON THAT
> 
> Barbara has noble intentions but there is ABSOLUTELY still a tiny voice in the back of her head commentating on how pretty the shirtless man is 
> 
> Listen I know I'll probably feel different about this chapter later but for some reason I just- I just feel like it's off?? Idk it is driving me CRAZY I've been editing it in bits in pieces for days and I'm gonna screm


	3. He's Concussed and She's Lonely

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kanjigar meets the kids and enjoys their chaotic teenager dorkiness. He tries pizza. He talks with Barbara.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I adore writing Jim and toby as the dumbass teenagers they are. And the way Jim talked in the first episode? Damn, that kid's got some serious wanderlust in him. If he wasn't the FOCUS of all the magic destiny bullshit, I feel like he'd be a LOT more enthusiastic about it. Also, you can't tell me this little dumbass hasn't broken some limbs doing stupid bike tricks. 
> 
> Reminder Kanjigar's still not entirely thinking right, though he's relatively conscious he's probably not 100% there all the time. 
> 
> The length of this chapter got really out of hand but I didn't want to break it up so here ya go :)

Toby was a bit nervous to get home and meet Kanjigar for real. Jim, on the other hand, was  _ excited.  _

"Just think, Toby, this is probably the _ coolest _ thing to ever happen to us." Jim laughed as he sped down the street. Toby puffed behind him tiredly. 

"Yeesh, pedal a little faster why don't you?" Toby wheezed. Jim's stupidly long legs worked  _ way  _ too fast on bike pedals. It was inhuman! How could those skinny legs have so much muscle in them? 

"Sorry, Tobes." Jim slowed down for him to catch up and visibly made an effort to speed less. Even if his hands were wringing his handlebars and he was bouncing in his seat. 

"You're alright man, just try to be more careful about the magic knights sleeping in your basement." Toby shook his head. "Like, I'm excited too! But I think you're forgetting the guy's tried to like, stab us several times?" 

"That wasn't his fault!" Jim rolled his eyes. "Concussions can  _ really  _ mess you up, we were both there when Mom taught us about concussions. And Mom says he's been a gentleman so far now that he's actually awake, it’s why she said we could come visit." 

Jim lead them around a turn and Toby quietly admitted he had a point. Doctor Lake was  _ incredibly  _ protective of them. She’d never let them back in the house if she thought they’d be in danger. 

"I feel like this dialogue is usually opposite. Is this how you feel when I get weird ideas and won't listen to reason?" Toby snickered. 

Jim groaned in exasperation as they rolled to a stop outside Jim's garage. 

"You know what? Yeah." Jim shoved Toby's shoulder and they both laughed. Toby probably deserved that, he did a  _ lot  _ of dumb stuff. "But… I dunno, Tobes, I've got a… a  _ weird _ feeling we can trust him." Jim said quietly. He pulled his jacket sleeves down and over his hands, rubbing the fabric between his fingers in that weird habit of his that he did when he was feeling overwhelmed. 

"You haven't even talked to the guy," Toby pointed out, but shrugged and backpedaled at Jim's annoyed look. "Okay okay! I'll stop being a downer and we can go meet Mister Shirtless Magic Guy!" Jim shoved him again and they both raced to the porch. 

Jim was the first in the door and stopped on the doormat. Toby squeezed in behind him curiously. 

Mr. Shirtless Magic Guy - who was apparently actually named Kanjigar - was now sitting on Jim's couch, looking around the living room like he was lost. For an absolute unit of a mountain he was leaning against the back of the couch like he was about to fall over. 

When they inched through the front door Kanjigar's eyes slowly turned to them, looking dizzy. Toby knew  _ immediately _ he was magic because normal people didn't have bright shiny golden eyes. And he was  _ definitely  _ also concussed because he looked barely there. 

"Uh- hi!" Jim waved awkwardly, shuffling forwards. 

"Hello." Kanjigar nodded, blinking. "You must be Jim and Toby." 

"That's uh- that's us!" Jim said, Toby nodding furiously behind him. 

“Thank you, sincerely, for your timely arrival under the bridge.” Kanjigar bowed his head and held his hand up to his chest in a weird way. “And for your secrecy regarding, ah…” 

“The magic sword and armor thing?” Toby popped out from behind Jim, suddenly just as eager. Jim elbowed him with a snort. 

“Yes.” Kanjigar smiled slightly. 

“So  _ about  _ that, mind if we ask you… oh, several million questions about it?” Toby smiled when Kanjigar laughed.

* * *

Barbara watched fondly from the kitchen as Jim and Toby scrambled to sit somewhere in the living room. They ended up perched together in the single armchair and began asking one thing after another so fast Barbara had a hard time keeping up. Kanjigar was unerringly patient with their questions and Barbara learned a lot about trolls from listening to them. She ordered pizza while they talked. She didn’t think Jim wanted to get up and make dinner with such an interesting houseguest. 

"Do you guys want something to drink?" Barbara leaned over the bar counter. She reached over and turned on the coffee pot. It was a simple enough process that even  _ she  _ could make coffee, even with Jim’s lack of faith. She felt like she was going to need the caffeine. 

"Just a soda, Doctor L!" Toby waved and smiled. 

"I'll take a coffee once it's done. Make it special?" Jim pulled a pillow into his lap, sitting cross legged on the armchair. Toby sat on the top of the armchair with his legs against Jim's back. Occasionally they shoved each other. 

"Coffee milk coming up." Barbara winked at him when Jim smiled. 

"Can I have more of that…" Kanjigar hesitated. "Orange juice?" 

"Of course." She brought Toby his can of soda and a glass of orange juice to Kanjigar. 

This time he sipped it slowly and curiously, face going through about ten different emotions at the flavor. Barbara couldn't help but find it rather adorable. Jim and Toby whispered frantically to themselves and snickered. 

"If the majority of your curiosity is satisfied, I do… have some questions for you as well. About humans." Kanjigar had a strangely serious face for someone staring into a glass of orange juice. “I know many things about humankind, but nothing about  _ being  _ human.” 

"What kind of questions?" Jim tucked the pillow under his chin, absolutely focused on Kanjigar. 

"Starting with diet." Kanjigar said sheepishly. "Troll and human diets are… very different. I know of a few issues, but I don't want to make a mistake and possibly break my jaw." He rubbed his mouth with a wince. Barbara got the feeling he was speaking from experience already. 

"Shoot." Barbara said, still watching them. 

She didn't think Kanjigar would hurt the boys but he was still rather dazed. Getting him up the basement stairs had been a challenge, even giving him one of Jim's old crutches to balance with hadn’t helped. She’d nearly had a heart attack watching him sway back and forth. 

Kanjigar jumped a bit and looked at her with wide eyes. “Where?” 

"Shoot’s an expression, big guy," Toby grinned widely. "It means go for it!" Toby finger gunned. Kanjigar looked at his finger guns with slight confusion but nodded regardless. 

"Let's start with what trolls eat," Barbara suggested. "Then we work backwards to what humans eat." 

Kanjigar shook his head. "Anything, nearly. But trollkind has never eaten so well as we have in recent times. Human trash and garbage is  _ filled _ with things trolls eat. Metals, refuse, fabric, glass. Meat is also an important part of troll diets, though some trolls argue quite a lot over the source of that meat." Jim and Toby frowned in confusion but Barbara felt a bit of a chill. 

"You said before, that there were… bad trolls." She said slowly. 

"Gumm-Gumms." Kanjigar's face darkened. "They used to eat humans, yes, but there is only one still remaining in this world." He looked her in the eyes reassuringly. "It is my duty to protect humankind from Gumm-Gumms who would eat them." 

"Heh, duty." Toby whispered. Jim reached back and elbowed him harshly. "Ow!" 

Kanjigar turned to them and blinked. Barbara rubbed her forehead. 

They had to take a brief break as the doorbell rang. Kanjigar jumped nearly a foot in the air, the boys cheering. 

Nothing a pair of teenagers loved more than greasy pizza. 

Barbara made quick work of paying and tipping the delivery girl and getting plates. Not that the boys waited for them. They had their extra cheese pizza opened and torn into before she could even explain what ‘pizza’ was to a bemused Kanjigar. 

"So normally trolls _ don't _ eat people?" Barbara tried to get them back on track once food was distributed and Kanjigar was sniffing a slice curiously. "But they  _ do  _ need to eat meat? I think we'd hear more about missing cattle in agricultural areas, if that was what you eat." 

"That's where modern trolls argue over the source of our meats." Kanjigar said, eyelids drooping slightly before jolting open. Barbara caught it and watched him carefully. "Cats are quite the delicacy, but some trolls claim humans will notice their pets missing. It's hard to tell what creatures running around your streets are pets or not." He gave the slice of cheese pizza a nibble, looking at the boys for reference on how to eat it. Kanjigar blinked and took a larger bite. He hummed appreciatively. “This is… good.” 

"Dude it’s  _ pizza,  _ everyone loves pizza! But let’s get back to the important thing!" Toby clutched Jim's head nervously, Jim wheeling backwards somewhat with a yelp. "People  _ love  _ their pets! Do you guys eat  _ dogs  _ too?!" 

"Dogs are more likely to be missed, so I try to advise others to avoid them." Kanjigar said as if it were perfectly normal. He took another bite of pizza. He looked inordinately pleased as he chewed. 

"Dude!!" Toby whined. "That's terrible!! Trolls eat people's _ pets!"  _

"That's why it's beginning to be something of an issue." Kanjigar sipped his orange juice and licked his lips, making yet another face at the bizarre taste combo of orange juice and cheese pizza. He set his cup down and pushed it away. "Trolls aren't much for animal husbandry, but there have been some trying in recent times." 

Toby made a deflating balloon noise and buried his face in the top of Jim's head. Jim smacked him with his pillow. They devolved into a slap fight almost immediately, Toby wrapped around Jim's shoulders like a koala. 

Kanjigar watched them with amusement. 

"Regardless of species, whelps always act the same." Kanjigar chuckled. 

"No kidding." Barbara jumped when she realized the coffeemaker had been done for a while and took out two mugs from the cabinet.

"Is that where that smell is coming from?" Kanjigar lowered his slice and sniffed loudly, nose piercing shifting in a way that Barbara stared at for a moment too long. He looked at the coffee pot curiously. 

"It’s coffee." She looked down at the two cups she'd grabbed and picked out another. "Want to try some? Classic human drink, at least in America." 

"Maybe his first taste of coffee shouldn't be  _ your  _ coffee, Mom." Jim said in between Toby squeezing his face like a balloon. "The stuff gets up and walks." 

"And you like it, so you can't say anything." Barbara laughed. "I'll give him a cup black and see what he thinks and we'll go from there." 

Kanjigar seemed distracted by watching Toby and Jim's slap fight get more and more ridiculous. Toby was upside down in the chair and Jim was starting to climb over the back by the time Barbara remembered he’d asked for human information. 

"So about human diets! I guess I'll start with, um…" Barbara bit her lip. "Humans physically  _ can't _ eat most of what you said, just because things like broken glass and metal would rip up the entire digestive tract. Even those parts of troll diet that humans  _ could _ eat would make us terribly sick." She poured coffee seriously, one cup only half full. Extra sugar and the rest full of milk and creamer. Coffee milk, a classic Lake comfort drink. “I… don’t know what exactly to start with. We can let you know what’s edible or not as we go. Humans are essentially omnivorous, though the _ exact  _ dietary requirements can change depending on race and physiological need… which is not really important,” She shook her head, trying to look away from the dark color of Kanjigar’s skin. It was very... distracting. “You know, we should get you a shirt.” 

Barbara walked around the counter and set Jim’s mug down on the coffee table, handing the second cup to Kanjigar. She speedwalked back to the kitchen before she started staring at him again. That man being shirtless was a distraction and a  _ hazard. _

“I don’t think we have anything in the  _ house  _ that will fit him, Mom.” Jim jumped over the back of the chair and circled around to the table to drink his coffee milk. 

“A shirt?” Kanjigar looked down at his chest. “Why? I thought human males did not require upper clothes.” 

“I mean technically, no,” Barbara eyed him. “But trust me, you do.” Jim and Toby both make gagging noises when they saw her looking at him. “Oh hush, you two.” Kanjigar looked confused. She looked at the clock and shook her head. The boys had pestered Kanjigar with questions for several hours. “Alright you two, Kanjigar should probably get some rest.” He looked more and more tired with every passing minute. “Grab your pizza and head on back to Toby’s, both of you. Tell Nancy I said hello.” 

The boys both whined about it but did get up eventually. Jim paused in the front door, looking thoughtful. 

“When are you going to go back to work?” He asked tentatively. 

“As soon as I’m more confident Kanjigar can be left alone, probably in the next few days.” Barbara settled in the chair the boys had vacated and held her coffee cup up in a toast. “Depending on how it goes you two can spend the nights over here again when you want.” It wasn’t as if spending a few days living at Toby’s house was out of the ordinary. Toby slept over at the Lake house more often than not to begin with. 

“Alright Doctor L, see you tomorrow!” Toby waved excitedly. “I’ll ask Nana if she’s got anything big enough for him to wear!” 

“Thank you, Toby.” When the door closed she took a deep drink of her coffee. “Sorry if they were a bit much.” 

“Not at all,” Kanjigar said softly. “Children are precious. It’s wonderful to see whelps with such spirit and innocence.” 

“Spirit, definitely, not sure I’d agree on ‘innocence’ all the time.” Barbara laughed. 

“That is just parenthood.” Kanjigar laughed with her. “Allow me to ask some more questions of you, Doctor Lake.” 

“Please, call me Barbara.” She shook her head. Maybe tone it down on the flirting? She doubted he would notice or understand it. 

“Very well.” He nodded obliviously. “You are a healer, yes?” Kanjigar shifted on the couch, right hand rubbing the bandages on his left. “Your son mentioned you were not working, taking care of me.” 

Barbara took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. “I didn’t want to leave you alone here, if only because leaving an injured stranger alone in my house isn’t exactly the wisest decision.” Kanjigar nodded again in understanding. “I took some time off, called in the vacation time I’ve had stacked up. They’re a bit short staffed right now but the hospital was all too glad to give me a break.” She shook her head. “I’m… something of a workaholic, truthfully, not to mention I only finished my residency barely two years ago.” 

Kanjigar’s head tilted. He frowned and blew a puff of air at the hair hanging in his face. It flopped back down in his face again. 

“It’s complicated, but basically, even after all the schooling you go through to become a doctor, you have to spend several years working in a hospital before your medical license is fully instated.” Barbara rubbed her forehead. “Understandable, but exhausting. It means I’m somewhat at the bottom of the food chain in the hospital, I get all the worst shifts and the most incoherent schedule…” She sighed. “But my work’s been noticed, thank god, so the hospital was glad to let me have a break.” 

For once. Frankly she’d barely gotten out ‘I need to call in some vacation days-’ before her boss had signed off and told her to take a damn break. 

Kanjigar was frowning slightly and it sank more with every word. “It sounds foolish to overwork one’s healers like that.” 

“There’s a lot to do.” She shrugged helplessly. “Lots of people to need even more doctors.” 

“How do you… find time to be so close to your son, being so busy?” Kanjigar leaned against the back of the couch. He sounded almost melancholic, longing. “You seem… close.” 

Was he jealous? Barbara frowned at him but he didn’t see her.

“It’s been… hard. But we make it work. Together.” She looked down into her cup, fingers tight around the ceramic. “Especially considering Jim’s father…” Kanjigar remained respectfully silent for the moment she took to wrestle her anger before she accidentally spit it out at a man who definitely didn’t need to handle her repressed emotions. “He left, when Jim was young. Sometimes I don’t think Jim ever really accepted it.” 

“My mate left when my son reached his majority.” Kanjigar said neutrally. 

Barbara looked up from her cup. His head was propped on his hand, staring up at the ceiling blankly. She had the feeling he wasn’t really aware of what he was sharing. 

“At least your…  _ mate  _ waited until he was grown.” Barbara breathed out. 

“Sometimes I think it was the only thing she ever waited for.” Kanjigar hummed. “Her tribe is well known for its violence and impatience, never staying in one place for very long. Rarely ever laying down roots.” His hair was draped over his shoulders, his bandaged hand fiddling with the ends of it idly. “I was surprised enough when we bonded, I don’t think I ever expected her to stay. I’m glad she stayed while she did.” 

“You expected her to leave you?” Barbara frowned. Kanjigar merely shrugged. 

“I didn’t expect  _ anything  _ from her.” There was a faint, nostalgic smile on his face. “Her tribe  _ literally  _ is filled with untapped energies that make them  _ unable  _ to control themselves for very long.” He waved his hand. “Crystals filled with pure energy, growing along their bodies.” Barbara blinked, baffled. “It’s strange, I know. The fact that she cared enough to bond with me in the first place was amazing. Staying to have a child together, raising him?” Kanjigar shook his head. “Far more than I thought I would receive.” 

“She sounds… interesting.” Barbara couldn’t help a disbelieving smile. There was still a tiny part of her that thought he was just plain crazy. But he sounded  _ genuine.  _

“And your mate?” Kanjigar brought her out of her thoughts. “It sounds like your separation was less amicable.” 

“We were married for seven years. He left a note on Jim’s fifth birthday and went off with a woman half his age to New Jersey.” Barbara’s tone was acidic, to say the least. Kanjigar sat up straight with an outraged expression. “Yeah, not exactly amicable.” 

Kanjigar’s face scrunched up and he held up his fingers, counting something. “I don’t claim to know human aging very well, but that is… whelphood, yes?” 

“Humans are considered legal adults by eighteen years in America, depending on what they’re trying to do. Twenty-one is when they have full freedom in society.” Focusing on the facts was easy. Ages didn’t hurt. Comparing societal aging didn’t hurt.  _ Thinking about James _ hurt. 

Kanjigar looked  _ furious  _ at the knowledge. “He simply  _ left?  _ If you were a troll you’d be well within expectations to rip him into pieces!” Kanjigar crossed his arms. 

“Not legal by human standards, but trust me, I’ve considered it.” She rubbed her forehead. “Can we stop talking about this? He’s a deadbeat, a cheat, and a scoundrel and I’d rather not remember that.” Kanjigar softened. 

“Of course.” He seemed unsure what to speak of now, floundering once his anger had no focus. Maybe she should keep the conversation to less stressful topics. 

“So tell me about troll ages, then.” Barbara pulled her feet up into the chair and curled up to get comfortable. 

“It can be different between tribes, but generally most trolls are considered whelps - the… the smallest children? Up until about one hundred years. Displayed maturity counts more than physical years, but very few are considered adults before two hundred. Draal earned his title and adult carvings when he was two-hundred-thirty. He spent  _ decades  _ trying to earn a moniker, and don’t get me started on what a terror he was as a whelp-” 

Sometime later Barbara was in the middle of a heartwarming story involving Jim’s first major bike accident, Toby losing a tooth, and the boys begging her for First-Aid lessons when she looked up to a loud snore. Kanjigar was passed out, head tilted back and slumped over on his side. He looked ridiculous. She allowed herself a  _ minute  _ to admire him before getting a blanket and pillow from the closet. 

She may be professional but she was only human.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear Draal will be here soon I just keep getting distracted by concussed Kanjigar being a dork. Also, he's not used to human faces so he's like incredibly transparent. 
> 
> Watch as I make up a bunch of hcs about Draal's mother because why not. Also, we DON'T SEE many trolls with those types of crystal spikes on them. It gets me curious. 
> 
> THANKS FOR READING HAVE A LOVELY AFTERNOON


	4. Rollin Around at the Speed of Sound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draal is here and if there's anything the first season of Trollhunters tells us, it's that a stressed and grieving Draal makes VERY POOR life decisions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO I TECHNICALLY POSTED THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER A FEW HOURS AGO BUT HERE'S THE NEXT ONE BECAUSE I GOT CRAZY INSPIRED BCZ DRAAL FINALLY GOT HERE 
> 
> Most of the time if trolls are speaking in italics it means they're speaking Trollish. I like to think Aaarrrgghh still has trouble with Trollish sometimes but generally, he can speak it better than English. 
> 
> Anyways prepare yourself for Draal being a Panicked Angry Dumbass

Jim and Toby walked out of the Goodwill, squinting out at the sun about to set on the horizon. 

“Man, were we really in there  _ that  _ long?” Toby shrugged his bag of clothes over his shoulder. 

“Well it took us forever to find anything that might fit Kanjigar, then you kept trying to get him Hawaiian shirts, then we spent like half an hour in the changing room trying to come up for a cover story for buying clothes this big when the cashier didn’t even bother asking why we needed them in the end anyways.” Jim counted off on his fingers. “And for your information, I  _ still  _ don’t think Hawaiian shirts fit Kanjigar’s aesthetic.” 

“Yeah, like magic troll knights have much of an aesthetic we can find in a Goodwill!” Toby threw his hands up. “I’m just saying, we should give him some options!” 

“Once he’s feeling better he can go and pick some out himself,” Jim pointed out. “But let’s  _ try  _ not to dress him up like a funky uncle from a cartoon show?” 

“Dude, tank tops aren’t gonna go much better either.” Toby rolled his eyes. “Did you  _ see  _ the way Doctor L keeps looking at his biceps?” Toby flexed his arm and then made a kissy face. 

“Oh my  _ god  _ don’t talk about my mom like that! Ew!” Jim shoved Toby. 

“She’s been eyeing Kanjigar up the  _ whole  _ time he’s been at your house!” Toby yelped and dodged another shove. 

Toby hopped up on his bike and pedaled away as fast as possible, kicking over Jim’s bike. Jim yelled and dragged his bike up to chase after him. 

Neither of them noticed the sewer entrance nearby, or the six glowing eyes looking through it.

* * *

“Any sign?” Draal snarled when Blinky rushed out of a sewer pipe nearby. 

“Humans! They were speaking about Kanjigar, they even used his name!” Blinky wheezed, bending over and trying to catch his breath. “They spoke as if he were alive!” 

Blinky yelped when Draal picked him up and slammed him into the sewer walls. 

“WHAT?!” Draal  _ growled  _ fiercely.  _ “Where?!”  _

His shoulder was grabbed by Aaarrrgghh, forcing him back to release Blinkous. 

_ “Calm down!”  _ Aaarrrgghh snorted, crouching over Blinky protectively as he coughed and rubbed his chest with a wince.  _ “All worried! Do not hurt friends who want to help!”  _

Draal slammed his fist into the wall, the entire tunnel shaking with the strength of his blow. Dirt and droplets of water showered from the ceiling. 

“Where did you hear these  _ humans?”  _ Draal kept his distance from Blinkous only because of the quiet growl Aaarrrgghh was keeping up. 

Blinky shook his head, only able to tell Draal what direction they were headed. He hadn’t been able to keep up with them on their wheeled transportation from the sewer tunnels. The blue troll set off at a bound the instant he had a direction. 

Aaarrrgghh leaned down and nuzzled him worriedly. 

“Okay? Hurt?” He rumbled. 

“A little sore, but I’ll be alright.” Blinky sighed, groaning. Aaarrrgghh whined slightly and snorted angrily, glaring in the direction Draal had stomped off to. “It’s alright, he’s… he’s worried. The idea that Kanjigar may yet still be alive…” Blinky rubbed his face with two hands. “I don’t blame him for… for losing his temper a bit.” 

“Should  _ never  _ lose temper on friends. Never  _ hurt  _ friends.” Aaarrrgghh shook his head, ears flattened. 

Blinky stood up slowly and bumped his forehead to Aaarrrgghh’s chin. “Indeed, but we may discuss that with Draal  _ after  _ we find Kanjigar. Or, or his…” Or Kanjigar’s remains, Blinky didn’t want to say. Aaarrrgghh rumbled unhappily. 

“Been three days, after fight with Bular.” Aaarrrgghh said quietly. It was an awfully long amount of time for Kanjigar to be missing without any sign that he was still alive. 

“I doubt our Trollhunter has allowed himself to be felled by that gruesome Gumm-Gumm!” Blinky said hopefully, feeling much less confident than he sounded. “We have  _ yet  _ to find his remains, so I choose to believe the best until it is proven otherwise!” Aaarrrgghh nuzzled their heads together slightly. “So let’s go and follow our headstrong heir before he does something  _ else  _ foolhardy.” 

Aaarrrgghh huffed and shook the dirt out of his mane before Blinky climbed on his back. He set out at a much more reasonable pace than Draal, not too eager to catch up to the blue hothead. Blinky was the only one who knew what the humans looked or smelled like anyways. 

Certainly Draal couldn’t accidentally stumble across them before they did, right?

Meanwhile Draal ran through the sewer tunnels as fast as he could, stopping only to listen through the holes and grates for any clues. It was beginning to dawn on him that he didn’t know  _ what  _ humans he was looking for, exactly. He was too proud to admit it and turn back to wait for Blinky and Aaarrrgghh. 

Underneath Draal’s raging fury, panic, and grieving was a touch of guilt. Not that he was going to admit it, and not that he even  _ could  _ admit it, but it was there. And maybe when the surplus of emotions filling up his entire being faded some he could bring himself to acknowledge it. Maybe apologize to his Father’s oldest friends,  _ family.  _

But right now Draal was nothing but anger and grief and a tiny shred of hope, so he charged forwards blindly with that hope that he would find  _ something.  _ Every step was fueled by a wellspring of unstoppable energy and force that didn’t stop, wouldn’t  _ let  _ him stop. 

And despite the odds, he found something. 

A pause, a moment of hesitation by a manhole, and words filtered through to his ears. 

“... pants … kilt, not … Kanjigar seems … doing better, hurt …” 

Humans. 

Draal could barely hear their words past the passing metal monstrosities humans drove, but he heard his father’s  _ name.  _

He cracked his horns against the concrete trying to shove his eyes up to the holes in the sewer’s entrance, trying to  _ look.  _

Two young whelps riding the two wheeled transportation Blinky had mentioned turned down a street. Draal took in a deep breath, trying to find their scents. He couldn’t reach them from here. This part of the surface was primarily human caves, few businesses if any. 

Now he knew where to  _ look. _

* * *

“Are you sure about this?” Barbara hovered behind Kanjigar, feeling strangely worried. 

“I want to… know.” Kanjigar said slowly. He stared out the back door at the beams of sunlight streaming over the backyard. He looked down at his left arm, burned and still warm with pain. 

“Will you at  _ least  _ please take the crutch?” Barbara sighed. He was clinging to the doorframe much harder than she thought he should be. 

Kanjigar didn’t answer, letting go and stepping forwards. He held his right hand out first. 

The sunlight hit his outstretched fingers and he pulled them back instinctively. Kanjigar looked at them, unharmed, and swallowed. He reached his hand back out. 

The sun fell over his skin harmlessly. Kanjigar breathed in sharply. His ribs hurt with the motion. 

Barbara’s hand fell on his shoulder and he looked back at her to see her looking supportive, if confused. 

Kanjigar took a step forward. And another step. 

And then he was standing. In  _ sunlight.  _

He took a deep breath in and let it out. He didn’t… hurt. Well, aside from the sharp ache of his chest. The  _ sunlight _ didn’t burn. 

It actually felt rather… pleasant. A comforting warmth. Like a blanket falling over him. 

“Are you alright?” Barbara sounded concerned again. 

Kanjigar realized his vision was a little fuzzy. 

“I might need to sit down.” He said much calmer than he felt. 

She disappeared from his side and came back dragging some sort of plastic chair. 

“Here, just sit down, carefully, try not to break my lawn chair.” She laughed breathily as he teetered into the chair much less gracefully than he would like. 

“It’s warm.” Kanjigar said a few moments later, looking at the sunbeams across the yard. 

“The sun is a large source of heat, yes.” Barbara laughed. She dragged another chair over and sat down next to him. “Why don’t we stay out here and sunbathe for a bit?” 

“Sunbathe?” Kanjigar looked at her astonished. 

“Humans need sunlight,” Barbara said idly, fingers curling around her hair. “We tend to get moody and depressed without it. Even if you  _ were  _ a troll previously, you’re human now, so you need sunlight. Not exactly something most people need to make a  _ point  _ out of doing, but sometimes I find that if I’m feeling bad it’s just… nice to sit in the sun and soak it in.” 

“It  _ is  _ rather comforting.” Kanjigar looked back across the yard. “How strange. Humans need sunlight, and trolls die from it.” 

“You…” Barbara squinted, trying to remember. “Turn to stone, right?” 

“Dead stone.” Kanjigar confirmed. “Normally trolls are made of living stone. Sunlight kills us.” He looked down at his left arm. “These… these burns were sunstains, before. I… think. It’s hard to remember.” Most of the fight with Bular faded into fuzzy memories. Concussions were horrible. 

Barbara frowned. “Are sunstains as a troll worse than second degree burns as a human?” She asked idly, still not entirely convinced anything he said was real. 

“I think the burns may be worse,” Kanjigar admitted, trying to flex his hand and wincing. “Sunstains itch and ache horribly, but humans…  _ feel  _ more.” It  _ burned  _ in an intense sort of way that even lava burns didn’t. 

“Skin and nerves probably have more sensory feedback than stone, living or not.” Barbara pulled her knees up and propped her chin on them. 

Sunbathing was… nice. Incredibly unnerving, since he kept jumping and expecting to start turning to stone, but Kanjigar enjoyed it regardless. He felt simultaneously more relaxed yet awake after barely thirty minutes ‘soaking in’ the sun. 

By the time the sun had settled far enough the house shaded the backyard, Kanjigar felt rather drowsy. 

“I don’t like this concussion, it makes me  _ sleep  _ too much.” He complained, trying to hold back a yawn. At least he seemed to be gaining back the awareness to  _ realize  _ he was far too tired. 

“Sleep is good for the body when it’s injured.” Barbara laughed slightly. 

They both turned to look at the house when the front door slammed open. They traded amused looks at the sound of two pairs of feet running through the house. Jim and Toby burst out the back door finally, excited. 

“We got you clothes!” Toby held up a plastic bag excitedly. 

“Just a few, until you can pick some out for yourself.” Jim said. 

“Thank you, but-” Kanjigar tried to protest but Barbara grabbed his arm and tugged him up. She couldn’t exactly pull him up but he gave in easily with a sigh and let her direct him around. 

“You could use a shower too.” She scrunched her nose up. “Come on, inside with you!” 

Jim was looking speculatively at the grill out on the lawn. “What do you guys think about barbeque tonight?” 

“I’m down!” Toby raised both his hands wildly. “Grilled zucchini?!” 

“But of course,” Jim bowed dramatically with a flourish. 

“You boys get that set up, I’ll help once I explain what shampoo is.” Barbara pushed Kanjigar through the door. Jim and Toby both traded looks and gagged. 

Barbara had to explain how to use the shower, warn Kanjigar against using hot water against his burns, and then explain the various soaps. She stayed in the bathroom, patiently waiting for him to be done. It was a  _ bad idea  _ to leave someone who was experiencing dizzy spells after a concussion alone in a slippery shower. The curtain was up but Kanjigar had started stepping out of his kilt nearly before she’d even turned around, so she had an inkling that troll nudity wasn’t quite as taboo as it was in human society. He’d pulled the curtain shut only after she haltingly suggested it. The fucker had the gall to laugh at her. 

(And then there was a brief awkward moment where he made a very awkward noise and she had to stifle her giggles, because it occurred to her that maybe troll nudity wasn’t taboo because they didn’t  _ have  _ what humans did.)

* * *

Chopping vegetables, fast thawing the chicken Jim had in the freezer, and getting the grill started took about an hour. Toby helped out where he could but Jim was a beast in the kitchen. Trying to help just made Toby feel like he was in the way. 

At least he could stay and chat with Jim while he opened the grill and prepared to lay out seasoned veggies and chicken. 

“Think Kanjigar will like-” 

Toby didn’t get the chance to finish his question, a vicious snarl ripping through the air. 

They both stiffened up and turned just in time to see the fence get busted down by a giant, blue monster. 

They were too terrified to scream. Toby immediately tried to pull them both towards the house but the giant monster barreled through the backyard and picked Jim up in one giant hand. Jim smacked the hand rapidly with the spatula he was holding onto with a death grip. Toby finally let out a scream. 

“WHERE IS HE?!” 

Jim squeaked, eyes wide, too petrified to say words back when the monster had his giant fangs in Jim’s  _ face.  _ His breath was  _ terrible.  _ Jim couldn’t help but think that those teeth were like the size of Jim’s whole hand. Or arm? Maybe he was just panicking. 

“W- what do you want?!” Toby stuttered, torn between running for safety and trying to get Jim free. The monster had Jim held  _ tight  _ and Jim had a hell of a wack with that spatula, but the thunk of metal on stone was just tinking repeatedly with no sign it was hurting the monster. Jim still didn’t slow down on the swinging as much as possible. 

Toby did  _ not  _ blame him because the monster was  _ huge  _ and had the biggest horns Toby had ever seen and the thing’s hand was just wrapped around Jim’s chest like it was nothing. 

The monster  _ roared _ in Jim’s face, his hair flying straight back and spit covering his face. Jim froze in sheer fear. His hand dropped the spatula. 

**“DRAAL!”**

Jim was too terrified to even move so it was Toby who got to see Kanjigar nearly  _ flying  _ out of the back door and shoving Toby aside, hair wet and plastered to the side of his face. Thank god Kanjigar had sweatpants and a tank top on. 

Toby’s jaw dropped as Kanjigar smoothly reached over the blue creature’s arm, hooked two fingers into the giant nose ring, and  _ yanked  _ the blue creature by the nose away from Jim’s face in one smooth motion. 

“ARE YOU  _ MAD?!”  _ Kanjigar  _ bellowed  _ with way more breath than a man with cracked ribs should have, shoving his face into the monster’s. “WE DO  _ NOT  _ UNDER  _ ANY CIRCUMSTANCES  _ **_HARM HUMANS!”_ **

The giant blue monster  _ squeaked.  _

“F- Father?” It said, giant eyes even wider in shock. 

“DROP HIM!  **_NOW,_ ** _ DRAAL!”  _ Kanjigar yelled. 

The monster dropped Jim, who stumbled away a few steps before just falling on his butt. 

“F- Father??” The monster held a hand up to the tattoos on Kanjigar’s shoulders, and then his face. “Wh- what..?” 

“I cannot  _ believe  _ you w- wou-” Kanjigar paled slightly, eyes widening from their furious squint. He took a shallow, wheezing breath and let go of the nose ring. 

Then he toppled over sideways.

“FATHER?!” Draal yelped and caught the human as he fell. Kanjigar’s head flopped lifelessly, clinging to the massive arm weakly. 

“Put him down!” Barbara shoved past Toby and  _ wacked _ the monster on the forehead with her broom so hard the handle snapped in half. The monster yelped and drew back, not letting go of Kanjigar but rubbing his head with his other hand. 

“Excuse me?!” Draal stared at her. 

“You’ve assaulted my son, disturbed my patient, and made his injury flare up!” Barbara brandished the broken half of the broom. “Put! Kanjigar! DOWN!” 

Draal growled and took a step towards her. 

“OH MY GOD YOU’RE A TROLL AND HE CALLED YOU DRAAL YOU’RE KANJIGAR’S SON!” Toby pointed an arm at the giant monster. Everything was happening too much right now. 

“What?” Barbara’s head turned back and forth between Toby and Draal, Jim making a dying whale sound from the ground. “You’re  _ Draal?  _ Kanjigar’s son?” 

Draal, too astonished by the circumstances and confused about his human father clinging to his arm, merely nodded. 

“Oh my god.” She almost dropped the broom, but bit her lip. Her hesitation quickly turned back into anger. “I’m not sorry! You had  _ no  _ right to barge in here like that! We’ll be lucky if the neighbors don’t call the police!” Barbara glared at him. “And Kanjigar’s son or not you nearly hurt  _ my  _ son!” She pointed the broken broom at him and then inside the house. “Now carry him in to the couch so I can make sure you didn’t  _ set him back  _ two days in his recovery!” 

“Recovery?” Draal said quietly, feeling strangely… cowed. Those were his father’s carvings on the human’s. That was his father’s voice. Those were his father’s eyes. That was his father’s parental  _ fury  _ that Draal hadn’t heard since he was a reckless whelp. 

“He was hurt, bad, I said  _ move it, _ buster!” Barbara swung the broom at him again but Draal ducked it. 

“I’ll- um-” Draal crouched over and picked up the large human, looking him over worriedly. Were those bandages? “This way?” He barely squeezed in through the door. 

“Right on the couch there,” Barbara said, professional mode on. “Toby, can you check on Jim? You remember shock protocol, right?” 

“R- right on it Doctor L.” Toby scrambled out of the troll’s way and towards Jim, who was still staring into the distance in shock. 

Draal settled the human on the couch. Kanjigar didn’t protest being laid down, head still limp. His eyes blinked rapidly when Barbara shone a light in them, skin pale. 

“Kanjigar? Can you hear me? Are you conscious?” She felt his forehead and then moved her hand to the sides of his chest, concerned he may have pulled already damaged ribs with that screaming. 

He made a slightly coherent noise, blinking again. He frowned and struggled to lift his head up. 

“Don’t, just relax.” She pushed his forehead back down. His face scrunched up in pain when she pressed on his ribs. “I think you pulled your side, yelling like that wasn’t a good idea. Add in another dizzy spell from the stress and you just blacked out for a bit.” Barbara explained calmly. Kanjigar watched her with dazed eyes as she stood up and started towards the kitchen. “I’ll grab you an ice pack and some ibuprofen, it should help.” 

Draal, shuffled awkwardly to the side of the living room, took a step forward. 

“Father? Is that… actually  _ you?”  _ He leaned over Kanjigar. 

Kanjigar’s eyes widened and he lifted his right hand up weakly. Draal lowered his head until the hand cupped his chin, downright tiny compared to what Draal was used to. Kanjigar hummed a confirming noise, frowning slightly. 

“Whh-” His voice was slurred. “What’re yyyou…. hhow’d you..?” 

“I should be- I should be asking  _ you  _ that!” Draal’s shout turned into a whisper when his father winced. “What  _ happened  _ to you?!” Draal nudged the hand aside and buried his face into the human chest, trying to be gentle since the human woman had mentioned a chest injury. 

He  _ breathed  _ in as deeply as possible, sniffing for the scent he knew by heart. 

That was  _ him.  _

It was buried in strange human smells, the soaps and cleansers they used, and it was  _ different  _ in a way that Draal couldn’t understand. But it was  _ Kanjigar.  _ Even if it weren’t for his scent something in Draal  _ knew.  _ That energy and restlessness he’d been filled with since Kanjigar’s disappearance was  _ gone.  _

Kanjigar’s hand settled on his head shakily and Draal couldn’t help the whine that he gave. 

His father was  _ hurt.  _ Badly. And Draal had charged in and made it  _ worse.  _

“Move aside, please.” The human woman said briskly as she walked back in with small pills, a strange white pad, and a glass of water in hand. Draal lifted his head and looked at her with distrust, then down at his father. 

Kanjigar blinked slowly, dazedly, and shrugged. Then he winced. Draal stepped aside for the human with great reluctance. 

“Can you help me sit him up so he can take this?” It was less of a question and more of a demand. Draal eyed her and lifted Kanjigar up to a sitting position. “Here, Kanjigar, just swallow these with water and it’ll help.” 

Kanjigar did not even protest, looking exhausted. That more than anything made alarms go off in Draal’s head. 

Kanjigar the Courageous did not merely  _ accept  _ medicine and rest.  _ Every  _ time Draal had seen his father injured Kanjigar had fought treatment every step of the way. It made dread fill Draal’s chest to see this weakened, injured version of his father accept medicine and lay down without even a  _ token  _ complaint. 

Kanjigar grabbed onto one of Draal’s fingers loosely when he was laid back down and Draal didn’t have the mental capacity to take his finger back right now. He just moved around until he could stand comfortably next to the couch without losing his father’s hold on his claw. 

“What um- what? Happened? To him.” Draal asked tentatively, looking up at the human woman who was crossing her arms and staring down at him angrily. 

“Sit.” She said venomously. She settled the white pad against Kanjigar’s chest carefully, Kanjigar sighing in relief. 

Draal sat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Draal is Not Thinking Right at any point when he's grieving and he just found out his dad might be alive, so he's gonna go fucking ham until he Finds His Dad 
> 
> Not that this excuses him for being a fuckin asshole in this OR in canon, but it's a reason. 
> 
> He heard 'Kanjigar' and his brain fucking snapped and he charged 
> 
> Of course this post happened because How could I Not https://weregreatatcrime.tumblr.com/post/611434536289583104/this-is-gonna-happen-in-the-fic-btw-because-if 
> 
> And might I reiterate. Your parent could be turned into a PIGEON and you would recognize them the INSTANT they pulled out the "furious parent voice" when you did something fucking stupid.


	5. Draal Says He's Sorry and Kanjigar Gets Poked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More trolls are being brought in! Barbara is wondering how many trolls are gonna be trooped through her house by the time this is all over. How is her house going to survive. 
> 
> Also, Draal says sorry and Jim isn't sure how to feel about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me? Posting at a vaguely RATIONAL time of the night instead of at 3 AM? You're kidding, right? 
> 
> Alright! More trolls! Jysk, this fic DOES have background Blarrrghy because i'm a sucker. Every time I write a scene with them in it they just start nuzzling and cuddling. 
> 
> If there's dialogue in italics there's a good chance it's in Trollish! I try to add on if they start swapping languages but just a reminder

Kanjigar was  _ very  _ dizzy. 

For a few minutes he couldn’t remember what had happened to cause it, then he looked around and saw Barbara giving a furious dressing down to his son. 

The past few minutes came back to him. The panic of hearing a troll's roar and Toby's scream from the backyard, then Kanjigar's mad rush down the stairs to help. It was surprising he hadn’t tripped while skipping several stairs at a time. 

Grabbing the Amulet from the couch on the way but holding back from using it just yet. Bursting out the back door and taking in the scene in a heartbeat. 

Being incredibly, furiously  _ livid _ with his son. 

Unfortunately stressing his injuries in the process. 

Kanjigar could not _ believe _ the lack of sense Draal had shown. Showing himself to humans!  _ Attacking  _ them! 

Kanjigar picked his head up from the arm of the couch and started to get up. Barbara turned _ instantly _ at the sound of the creaking couch and _ glared _ at him. Kanjigar's hands flew up defensively. He realized a second later that he'd been holding onto one of Draal's fingers and Draal looked disappointed he’d let go. 

"I feel better already, I'm just sitting up!" He winced and tried to gentle his breathing, chest and back aching sharply. Kanjigar was watched carefully by both of them as he grabbed the ice pack and pressed it up against the worst spots. The chill was a relief and he slumped weakly. 

"Dizziness? Nausea?" Barbara asked promptly, professionalism back. 

"A little dizzy, but it's fading." Kanjigar admitted reluctantly. "Are Jim and Toby okay?" 

"I don't know." Barbara's face softened and she looked between Kanjigar and Draal. "Will there be a problem if I leave you two alone?" Her voice was still as sharp as ever. 

"He's my son. Other than the lecture on unneeded violence I'm sure you've already begun on him, we'll be fine." Draal shrunk in on himself as Kanjigar spoke and leveled a disappointed look at him. 

"Might I remind you Kanjigar is  _ seriously  _ injured and I don't want him up so soon after a dizzy spell like that," Barbara turned to Draal and rattled off. "Don't let him get up, yell if he passes out again, and if you stress him out too much I've already seen three weak spots I can hit on you." Her stare was glacial. 

Draal merely nodded at her, not daring to speak. Barbara left with a huff through the back door. 

"Draal," Kanjigar began sternly the moment the screen banged shut behind her. "What were you  _ thinking? _ Exposing yourself to humans?  _ Attacking _ humans?! Jim is a  _ child! _ You could have-" 

"You-" Draal barely choked out before turning his head away. He was so curled in on himself he looked almost half his size. 

"Draal, look at me." Kanjigar reached a hand out towards him, suddenly concerned. 

"We thought Bular had killed you." Draal mumbled, voice unsteady and still not looking at him. 

"I'm alright son," Kanjigar softened against his better judgement. He'd never heard his son sound so dejected before. 

"No you're not!" Draal's head finally turned to him with eyes wet with unshed tears. "You're somehow- you're a _ human!  _ You're injured! The human said your _ brain _ was damaged!" Draal clearly fought against the urge to raise his voice and was shaking his horns back and forth. It was an old nervous habit from his whelphood that Kanjigar hadn't seen him do in… decades. 

"Son." Kanjigar beckoned him forwards and grabbed both sides of his face when Draal crept within reach. He traced the carvings along Draal's jaw thoughtfully before leaning in and pressing their foreheads together. 

It was awkward and different, their size difference a change of shape Kanjigar never expected. But the tension slowly trickled out of Draal's body at the troll gesture of affection. 

"I'm alive." Kanjigar said, closing his eyes. His forehead nearly hummed with energy where stone met skin. "Injured, yes. Dead, no. Barbara has insisted that while they are serious, my injuries appear to be healing very well." 

"Until I worsened them." Draal's face fell and Kanjigar opened his eyes with a sigh. 

"Yes, but I feel  _ fine. _ I’m more concerned with Barbara's children. They found me and saved my life, then when I… did several stupid things in my delusional state and revealed the Amulet and armor," Kanjigar drew back to rub his forehead and try to ignore his embarrassment. He prayed Vendel never found out about it. The Elder thought him an idiot already without adding  _ that  _ to his reputation. "They avoided taking me to a public human hospital where I could have been exposed." 

At first Draal looked confused but then his eyes widened. Kanjigar nodded seriously as Draal’s face rapidly shifted into understanding. 

The likelihood that the situation would have spiraled  _ horribly  _ out of control if Kanjigar had been taken to a human hospital was not lost on either of them. Draal had not seen how out of it he’d been, but he knew how violent a confused and disoriented warrior could be when in a strange place. 

A moment later Draal's face crumpled into shame and horror. 

"I… attacked the ones who saved you and took you in." 

"I owe them a lot for their hospitality and care." Kanjigar said gravely. “And so, it would seem, do  _ you  _ for attacking Barbara’s child without provocation.” He didn’t want to upset his son further but he was in a very precarious situation. 

"I… I am sorry, Father, I-" Draal crouched even lower to the ground than he already was, head nearly in Kanjigar's lap. "I have no excuse, I was just so  _ angry _ and I couldn't stop, I wasn't thinking-" 

"You're damned  _ right _ you weren't thinking!" Kanjigar gave a hard hit to the top of his head, though with human hands he probably barely even felt it. "You're lucky you're a grown adult or I'd ground you for a _ decade  _ and then some!" 

Draal breathed a gust of air into Kanjigar's gut and tentatively set his chin down on Kanjigar's legs. Kanjigar sighed and patted his head with a slump. 

He wasn't sure why he was doing this. He'd sworn when he became the Trollhunter that he would distance himself from his son to protect him, to keep him as far away from the deadly mantle as possible. But here Kanjigar was not pushing Draal off, not giving him the cold shoulder. He could even feel the anger trickling out of him with every shaky whuff of air on his stomach. 

"I'm very disappointed in you." Kanjigar said firmly. Draal flinched. "But I am glad to be alive, and I am glad to see you." Draal's head was heavy on his lap and his slight nuzzle didn't help his conflicting emotions but Kanjigar didn't push him off. 

When Barbara came back in she found Draal's head laid on Kanjigar's lap, eyes watching his father carefully. Kanjigar was leaned over Draal, arms pillowed underneath his chin as he snored over the troll’s head. 

“I thought I told you to yell if he passed out.” Barbara crossed her arms, unable to be mad at him when she saw the mournful look on the troll’s face. 

“He fell asleep, he didn’t pass out.” Draal’s mumble was barely intelligible. “I… I apologize-” Kanjigar’s breathing hitched and he made a noise in his sleep before settling down when Draal went quiet. 

“Shush, just be quiet for now and let him sleep. I’ll wake him up in an hour or so for dinner and to check on him.” Barbara sighed. “Then you can  _ apologize  _ to me  _ and  _ my son, not to mention Toby for nearly getting bowled over and the fright of his life.” 

Draal made a weak acknowledging noise and returned to staring at his strange human father. It seemed for once he would have to sit and think about what he was going to say. Blinky would tell him ‘I told you so’ if he knew.

...Oh stars,  _ Blinky. _

* * *

Jim was shaking. 

He hadn’t been able to stop since the backyard, hands too unsteady to even think about cooking dinner. He’d apologized to Toby about the barbeque being ruined but his best friend had insisted it was fine. 

“It’s not fine, Jim, you two have every right to be scared.” Mom had cupped both their faces and stared at them with a sad look before bringing them into a hug. “I’m so sorry you two had to deal with that. Once Kanjigar’s awake Draal is going to  _ apologize  _ to you or he’s not welcome in this house.” 

Jim had just shrugged, he hadn’t really been able to speak since the scare happened. It was like his throat had closed up and words wouldn’t come out. At least it didn’t matter to Toby, since they were on the same wavelength. If Jim stuttered and mangled his words when they came out it was fine. Tobes didn’t mind. 

So now Jim and Toby were sitting in Jim’s room, trying to do homework and failing miserably because neither of them could focus. 

A doorbell rang downstairs. 

“That’s probably the delivery guy!” Toby perked up. Chinese food this time. “Heck yes orange chicken orange chicken-” He wiggle danced on the bed making their stacks of papers fly everywhere. 

“Tobes!” Jim laughed, not really able to get any other words together. He gave Toby a vaguely annoyed yet amused look. 

“I learned the happy wiggle from you, you can’t be mad at me for doing it.” Toby stuck his tongue out and wiggled again pointedly. 

Jim rolled his eyes and looked down at his homework. How was he supposed to memorize Spanish conjugations after that? His ears were still ringing with the roar that had covered his face and hair in spit. He wanted to shake it off, stop thinking about it, but a simple wipe down with a rag didn’t get rid of the gross feeling crawling all over his face. 

“I’m gonna take a- A. Shower.” Jim bit down on the words when they tried to stutter out. He waved a hand towards his head and slid off the bed. 

“Cool, just hurry it up.” Toby followed him. “Kanjigar seems like the kinda guy to eat all the spring rolls!” Jim snorted and opened his door. 

A giant blue hand was raised, awkwardly waiting to knock. It lowered immediately when Jim flinched away. 

“Ah- sorry.” Draal said, shuffling away from the door. 

They stared back and forth for an awkward minute, none of them knowing what to say. 

“Well, I’m gonna just… go. Eat. I’m guessing the food is here-” Toby started trying to squeeze past the troll. 

“Wait.” He sounded embarrassed. “I… would like to apologise. I can’t give any sort of excuse for my actions.” Draal stepped back to give them more room but his back bumped into the wall. “My father told me that… you two were the ones to find him, to keep his Amulet from being exposed and taking him in yourselves. I owe you my thanks and a great debt, along with my sincerest apologies for attacking you.” He bowed his head to their level, his nose nearly touching the ground. 

Idly Jim noticed he had a nose ring too, just like Kanjigar. His mind was a little hysterical at the moment if  _ that’s  _ what he was focused on. 

“It’s… it’s okay, I guess,” Toby sounded reluctant. “Like, I guess he’s been like missing for several days now and I know I’d be freaked out if Nana or Doctor Lake went missing. But I don’t forgive you if Jim doesn’t, because  _ he’s  _ the one you picked up and shook like a freaking Bop It.” Jim made a strangled noise of amusement and hit Toby on the arm for that last bit. 

Draal turned more to Jim then, still somewhat bowed down. “I understand if you don’t accept my apology, I should not have done… any of what I did.” The troll winced. “It was reckless, rash, and stupid.” 

“Those sound like words my Mom would’ve yelled at you.” Jim’s mouth said before the rest of him caught up. Great,  _ now  _ he can talk normally?

“She did, and so did my father.” Draal admitted. “They were not wrong to. I was… mourning, I thought my father had died. When we heard no news from him, did not find his body…” There was genuine  _ grief  _ and sadness in his voice that made Jim feel bad for him. “When I discovered a human might know something about him I… reacted. Without thinking. I’m sorry.” Draal bowed his head again. He sounded like he actually regretted what he had done, instead of apologizing because he’d been told to like Jim had half expected. “If you do not choose to forgive my actions I only ask that you do not have your guardian cast my father out, as he… he needs your assistance and healing-” 

“Woah woah-” Jim waved his hands rapidly, words fighting to come out all at once. “Who said anything like- Mom wouldn’t even think of- why would you ever think-” 

“Even if you were the biggest jerk on the planet, your dad’s hurt and Jim’s mom can help him.” Toby jumped in, grabbing one of Jim’s arms before he flailed it into the doorframe. “So yeah no, we’d never do that! Doctor Lake might kick _ you  _ out of the house but Kanjigar’s still allowed here, as long as he needs.” Tobes nodded firmly. 

“Exac- that, that.” Jim pointed at his best friend and crossed his arms, fidgeting. He still felt shaky. “I don’t… I don’t know, I’m… I didn’t expect some giant monster to  _ roar in my face  _ today, okay?” He groaned and slumped. “Give me some- some time to think about it, but don’t worry. Tobes is right, we woul- we wouldn’t kick Kanjigar out like that.” 

Draal slumped in relief, looking like he hadn’t expected that. “Then I thank you, and I will… do my best to stay away from you in the meantime, if you would prefer.” 

“Um. Yeah, sure.” Jim shook his head. “I um- I was gonna-” He pointed down the hallway that Draal was blocking. 

“Oh! Sorry,” Draal tried to angle himself out of the way but it wasn’t super helpful. His spikes scraped the wall with a crack. “Agh- cursed-!” Draal froze and just gave up on trying to move. “Your guardian sent me to apologize and also to tell you that food had arrived. I will be gone, as I need to find the other trolls searching for my father and tell them he’s been found.” He backed down the stairs awkwardly. 

Jim rubbed his face tiredly and Toby patted his back. 

“Still excited about Magic Shirtless Dude?” Toby asked, grinning.

“Shut up and go get your stupid processed chemical-sauce chicken.” Jim shoved him away with a groan. He  _ hated  _ takeout.

* * *

Blinky and Aaarrrgghh couldn’t find Draal. 

Following his trail had been easy enough through most of town, but once they reached a more residential area the smell of smoke from an overturned grill covered up his scent. 

Blinky was starting to get worried. 

It had been several hours since they’d last seen Draal. The sun had set long ago and they were now just circling the streets where they’d lost the trail. The last they could find was the spot he’d left the sewers. 

They continued to circle the neighborhoods and search the woods nearby, doubling back to check again every now and then. Blinky and Aaarrrgghh were  _ really  _ starting to get worried. First Kanjigar was missing and now Draal had run off to likely do something stupid- 

Aaarrrgghh sniffed purposefully and Blinky was pulled from his spiraling panicked thoughts. 

“What is it?” Blinky patted the shoulder he was on curiously. 

“Smell Draal.” Aaarrrgghh said plainly, then changed directions to follow his nose. 

They found him in the woods, looking strangely chagrined but calm. He turned the moment he heard them following him and looked relieved to see them. 

“Blinky! Aaarrrgghh! I found Father!” 

The chastising words on the tip of Blinky’s tongue fell short. “What?! Where?” 

“You won’t believe it…” Draal laughed breathlessly, a hand covering his forehead oddly. “I still don’t. But it’s  _ him.”  _

“What do you mean?” Aaarrrgghh carried Blinky close enough that they could both smell the faint scent of human on Draal. “Draal! Don’t tell me you interacted with  _ humans?”  _ Blinky said in a panic. 

“That’s exactly it, Blinky…”

* * *

“Impossible.” Blinky breathed, circling Kanjigar with wide eyes. 

Kanjigar stood with his arms out and let his friends examine him curiously. 

“But it’s still  _ him.”  _ Draal nibbled on pieces of chicken and vegetables that had been ruined from the grill’s demise. The trolls had all been forced into the backyard when Draal, Blinky,  _ and _ Aaarrrgghh turned out to be just slightly too much for the fragile human living room. 

Aaarrrgghh repeated Draal’s earlier actions and shoved his nose into Kanjigar’s chest, breathing deeply. Kanjigar was pulled forward with the force of his breath and winced sharply. 

“Easy there, old friend, human bodies are fragile and mine is  _ not  _ healed yet.” Kanjigar cradled his ribs when Aaarrrgghh backed away quickly. 

“Still smells like Kanjigar.” Aaarrrgghh confirmed, though looking worried. “Smells human, IS human, but smells like Kanjigar.” 

“I don’t understand how this is possible.” Blinky lifted Kanjigar’s unbandaged forearm and prodded the tattoos in the shape of his carvings. “It isn’t! There has never been a case of a troll turning human before! Not- well, not outside of-” They all went quiet for a moment at the mention of changelings. “Anyways.” Blinky coughed. “How do we know it really  _ is  _ Kanjigar? Regardless of his scent?” Blinky wrung his hands nervously. 

“I’m right here, Blinky.” Kanjigar deadpanned. Barbara was starting to look like she was going to march over and  _ force  _ Blinky to stop manhandling him, the human children standing behind her were wide eyed and whispering to each other frantically. “Ask me something only I would know.” He suggested. 

Blinky perked up. “I have an even better idea!” He clapped all four hands together. “You still have the Amulet, yes? Can you still use it? Only the Trollhunter may summon the armor. If you can still use it then your story is  _ likely  _ true, if bizarre.” 

“Of course I still have it.” Kanjigar reached into the pocket of his ‘sweatpants’, they were really very convenient. He liked his kilt better but pants weren’t so bad he supposed. 

He pulled out the amulet and stared at it, willing himself to transform. 

They all stood there in awkward silence for a moment and Kanjigar tapped the amulet with a frown. 

“Perhaps… my control of it is different, seeing as I am human now. I haven’t had to use the incantation in decades...” He tried to blow a strand of hair out of his face and then held the amulet up. “For the glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command!” For one dizzying moment Kanjigar was lifted into the air and the armor summoned around him. 

He tipped over slightly when it set him down, Aaarrrgghh quick to catch him and Barbara practically teleporting to his side. 

“Well… that was dizzying.” He shook his head and then stood up straight as the armor flashed away. “What..? Oh bother, I don’t feel like spending  _ another  _ year trying to get the armor to do what I want it to.” Kanjigar groaned. It had taken a  _ lot  _ of training to get used to the armor. 

“Maybe don’t do that again anytime soon,” Barbara fussed. “At least unless you can keep it from making you float. It didn’t make you float when you used it before..?” 

“So cool.” Toby whispered from the sidelines. The trolls ignored him and Jim elbowed his side. 

“The Amulet is supposed to react to the wielder’s will and need,” Kanjigar explained, brushing off her hands as he caught his balance again. “Before I was panicked and needed protection, now I merely needed a demonstration.” He looked down at the Amulet faintly annoyed. “Though I wish it hadn’t picked me up like that.” 

“Okay?” Aaarrrgghh sniffed worriedly, though backing off as if afraid of hurting him again. 

“I’m alright, old friend.” Kanjigar softened and reached a hand out to pat the side of his head. Aaarrrgghh tilted his head into his hand with a slight worried rumble. “My injuries have just been… difficult to deal with.” 

“How so?” Blinky hovered behind Barbara, looking equally concerned. 

“Concussions cause dizziness and confusion, and his has been severe.” Barbara said firmly. “Not to mention he has cracked ribs and you need to  _ stop  _ poking him-” She sent a brief glare at Blinky. “You trolls don’t seem to understand the concept of treating humans  _ gently  _ as it is.” Draal winced and backed away slightly. 

Blinky and Aaarrrgghh both looked at him suspiciously, not knowing what had occurred before they got there but heavily suspecting. As much as Barbara wanted to throw him under the bus she knew ‘panicked young adult’ when she saw it and figured it was best to not say anything. Didn’t mean she was going to just let him off the hook entirely. 

“Well, if his injuries are so severe,” Blinky looked doubtful but seemed to agree regardless. “Then we should make for Trollmarket at once, so Vendel may see you and you can rest.” 

“What?” Barbara said, Jim and Toby both echoing her from the side of the house where they were both still huddled. Draal raised his head up with wide eyes. 

“I don’t believe we should-” Draal spoke but was promptly ignored. 

“How far away is Trollmarket exactly?” Barbara crossed her arms. 

Kanjigar promptly retreated towards his son, leaning against him tiredly. They traded knowing looks recognizing the tone of her voice. Jim and Toby both backed into the house nervously as well. 

“Oh as near as the closest underpass, though it may take some time to find one with a suitable counterpart to Trollmarket’s entrances.” Blinky rambled obliviously. 

“And does this ‘Vendel’ know how to deal with human illnesses?” Barbara said crisply. 

Blinky finally seemed to notice something was wrong. “Well, I’m not sure-” He began. 

“Then I’m going to have to insist Kanjigar stays here.” She put her foot down with a frown. “If I had the option I’d insist he be in a  _ hospital  _ for monitoring, but as it is I’m making do with keeping a professional eye on him myself.” 

“I’m certain Vendel-” 

As the conversation turned into an argument Kanjigar sighed wearily. Draal noticed and tilted his head worriedly. 

“Are you alright?” He bent his head down to sniff his father. 

“Tired.” Kanjigar grumbled. “I can barely do anything but sleep and sit around, and sitting around makes me more tired.” 

“Then standing will certainly be exhausting,” Draal nudged him towards the house with a frown. He resisted the urge to whine when he saw Kanjigar tilt. “You’re swaying.” 

_ “Fuck.”  _ Kanjigar muttered in Trollish, grabbing onto the ridges of Draal’s arm. “I don’t suppose you’d help me to the couch.” He was disgusted to have to ask for help but the ground was moving underneath his feet and he’d rather ask for help then fall over. 

“Of course, Father.” Draal said with affront. He led Kanjigar into the house slowly. 

Kanjigar was far too focused on making the world stop swaying to notice Draal looking behind him and giving a shocked Blinky a pointed look. Kanjigar  _ never  _ let someone make him rest. He was stubborn and mulish to a fault. To willingly  _ ask  _ for help to go sit down was such a bizarre thing for  _ Kanjigar  _ to do it highlighted how horrible the troll-turned-human must truly feel. 

“P- perhaps it may be best to let him stay here for now,” Blinky said, flustered. “But I… I do think Vendel should look him over, to see if we may begin to understand this… enchantment.” 

“Then have him come here.” Barbara lifted her chin. 

“Vendel hasn’t left the Heartstone in- in a hundred years, or more!” Blinky exclaimed. 

“Then he can make an exception for the injured Trollhunter.” She refused to back down and the downright  _ revered  _ way they said Trollhunter made Barbara start to realize how important Kanjigar’s role was. 

“Wh- I-” Blinky looked to Aaarrrgghh for any sort of support. Aaarrrgghh shrugged. 

“Kanjigar hurt, barely walking. Fall and stumble.” He seemed worried. “Just sniff, hurt him.” Aaarrrgghh slumped slightly. “Trollmarket very loud, rowdy, trolls don’t mind business.” 

“I… I guess you’re right, my dear.” Blinky tugged on an ear anxiously. “I just don’t… see how he’s going to  _ believe  _ us. He’s not particularly prone to believe me on ordinary matters as it is.” Blinky crossed his lower arms. “This is exceedingly  _ extra _ ordinary.” 

“I say so.” Aaarrrgghh nudged his shoulder slightly. “Will support.” 

“Thank you.” Blinky sighed. “It would help if Draal came back as well, but…” 

They could all see Draal parked firmly in front of the couch where Kanjigar was sitting down, looking like he wouldn’t move for all the world. 

“Worried. Us too.” Aaarrrgghh nodded. “Will convince Vendel. Leave Kanjigar to rest.” 

“It’s been a stressful day for him,” Barbara pointed out. “He had a brief nap before Draal left to find you but I’d prefer he be able to get some more rest before he has to deal with more stress.” Both of them turned to her curiously. “Stress is going to worsen his side effects considerably  _ and _ possibly set his recovery back. Right now he needs peace and rest. He  _ fainted  _ earlier when Draal first showed up.” She left out  _ why  _ that situation had been so stressful but it was sufficiently worrying that both of the trolls drew back in surprise. 

“I… I suppose we can wait some time…” Blinky bit his nails nervously. “In a few hours, then?” 

Barbara relaxed slightly, glad he could see sense. “Thank you, Blinky was it?” She held out her hand. “I’m sorry we weren’t introduced properly, with all the fuss. I’m Doctor Barbara Lake. The two kids in there are Jim and Toby.” 

“Blinky Galadrigal, my companion here is Aaarrrgghh.” He shook her hand with two of his with a grateful smile. “And we cannot thank you enough for helping our friend in his time of need, I don’t know what we can do to repay you.” 

Aaarrrgghh was surprised to see her offering her hand to him as well but took her hand as gently as possible. She ended up just shaking a single finger his hand was so large next to hers. 

“Just try to keep from undoing my hard work so far and we’ll be even.” Barbara said seriously. 

“Do best.” Aaarrrgghh said. Blinky nodded next to him sincerely. 

“We will take our leave now, will four hours be sufficient?” Blinky asked genuinely. Barbara made a slight face. 

“I… make it five, at least?” 

“Five hours, then.” Blinky nodded. 

It wasn’t enough, Barbara thought as the trolls stepped through the wrecked remains of her fence. But that was certainly enough time to get Kanjigar down to the basement, have a few cups of wine and an existential crisis, and sober up before the trolls returned. Probably. 

There was a loud crash from the house behind her, three childish voices yelling out that they hadn’t done it. 

Maybe being sober wasn’t necessary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna draw Kanjigar sleeping on top of Draal's head at some point trust me keep an eye out on tumblr
> 
> Also I've projected a lot of behaviors of mine onto Jim without meaning to but they just. Seem to fit him. so well. He's starting to realize trolls are less cool and more dangerous, now that he had one pick him up and shake him like a toy. (Also I can NOT stop losing it at Toby's Bop It line). DOES ANYONE ELSE ever get so mad about a stress stutter issue and just. Have. To. Bite. It. Out. 
> 
> Draal's used to dealing with trolls not humans. If he'd attacked a troll's kids he'd already be dead and his Father kicked out, probably. He's surprised to hear Barbara's kindness in this situation. 
> 
> Will Toby ever stop calling Kanjigar Magic Shirtless Dude? Probably not 
> 
> Idk if anyone's noticed but I've been playing a lot with the type of troll Draal's other parent was and I've been having a lot of fun coming up with some ideas. Like how Draal just Knew Instantly that it was actually Kanjigar, even though everyone else is rightfully suspish. 
> 
> Barbara needs another broom or she's gonna break a hand tryna smack a troll. Also, her poor house. Better hope you have good home insurance Barbara! 
> 
> ANYWAYS I'm glad y'all love this fic so far and I hope y'all have a lovely night!


	6. Draal's Got Your Broom, Barbara

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barbara TRIES to be patient with the trolls trying to break into her house and disturb her patient. Unfortunately Vendel is used to a Kanjigar with much higher pain tolerance and does Not have much respect for humans. 
> 
> Barbara is not about to take his shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man y'all sure loved the father son cuddles didn't ya 
> 
> I had this typed up yesterday but I only finished editing it today bcz I was up until 3 AM ranting about the dietary differences of trolls and humans on tumblr and the physiological basis for taste as a sense

Draal had insisted along with the humans that his father get some rest. It worried him how little Kanjigar argued before letting them usher him into his cot in the basement. 

Barbara had been surprisingly gracious enough to let him sit down there with his father. She said it was better to have someone keeping an eye on him and she didn’t want her ‘boys’ to have to. 

Draal had difficulty fitting amongst the boxes and items in the basement, but found a place to lay down and curl up well enough. Now he just watched the strange human version of his father's shallow breathing. Barbara said she would clear out more room later on if Draal needed the space. 

He hadn’t expected the human to allow him to stay. If he had threatened a troll’s whelps he would have been tossed out on his tail if he was  _ lucky.  _ Killed or maimed ordinarily. Troll mothers were not to be trifled with. 

Draal still couldn’t understand his own actions. He couldn’t believe he’d been so…  _ overwhelmed  _ and controlled by his grief and anger. 

Watching his father’s slow breathing, hearing a faint hitch of pain every now and then, Draal swore to be more aware of himself in the future. His rashness could have cost his father the medical attention he needed. It was by the humans' good will that his father was still living, still hidden. 

He wasn’t sure how he knew Kanjigar was so badly injured. Watching his father sway and faint, complaining of dizziness, nausea… for a troll they were worrying symptoms but overall weren’t really dangerous. There was something about it that Draal couldn’t pin down though, something that  _ told him  _ Kanjigar wasn’t okay. He  _ knew  _ his father was in a dire situation. 

He knew it in his  _ spines.  _

Draal stayed still and more patient than he’d ever been in his life, preparing to watch Kanjigar sleep for as long as he needed to. 

Then he heard the high pitch of Barbara’s furious voice rising up, barely an hour later, and Kanjigar jumped alert with a gasp. He fell back with a painful grimace a second later but propped himself up on his elbow, looking around frantically. Voices argued loudly at the door to the basement. Some of the voices sounded familiar. 

“Father,” Draal rose up and considered insisting his father stay down but Kanjigar was already swinging his legs over the side of the cot. 

They both flinched when they heard a familiar angry bellow that was  _ definitely  _ Vendel’s voice, followed by Barbara’s muffled voice becoming more shrill. 

“You’re not stopping me.” Kanjigar said bluntly. 

A small curl of relief loosened the knots of worry in Draal’s chest, as much as the attitude towards his health made Draal throw his hands up. As much as he hated his father trying to get up it was a  _ huge  _ relief to see familiar behavior from him. 

“Father, I’m sure it’s fine, I’ll go check on them,” Draal tried. 

“Either get out of the way or help me up the stairs, son.” Kanjigar narrowed his eyes dangerously. 

A minute later Draal balanced awkwardly at the top of the stairs as Kanjigar swung the door open, clinging to Draal’s outstretched arm whenever he lost his balance. Father and son stared at the chaotic scene of Barbara threatening Vendel with her broom, taped together awkwardly but still looking dangerous in her hands. Blinky stood between the two looking rather frightened but determined to keep them apart. Aaarrrgghh sat on the back steps with his head in the door watching on mildly. The gray troll nodded his head amicably when he saw them. 

Kanjigar turned his head when two sets of feet thundered down the stairs and Jim and Toby stopped halfway to boggle at the scene as well. 

“Jim, Toby, go back to sleep.” Barbara said sternly. “Draal, if you don’t get Kanjigar back down to the basement I’m breaking this broom over your head again.” 

Draal made a conflicted noise, looking between the terrifying woman and his father stubbornly glaring at the gathering. 

“Kanjigar?” Vendel brushed past Barbara and she scowled at him. “Is that  _ truly  _ you?” Vendel squinted at the human, nose twitching. He seemed doubtful. 

“It is me.” Kanjigar nodded seriously. “And I would ask that you stop causing the human who took me in grief.” The elder troll drew back in surprise at hearing Kanjigar’s familiar voice. It really  _ was  _ bizarre how his father’s voice had hardly changed at all being turned human. 

“I heard Blinkous’s ridiculous tale and I had to see it for myself. I see he was not  _ entirely  _ being ridiculous.” Vendel walked close enough to poke at the bandages on Kanjigar’s face and the human yelped. 

“Agh, don’t-” Kanjigar teetered backwards holding his face. Thankfully Draal caught him before he fell very far. “That  _ hurts!  _ Careful!” 

“Oh don’t be such a-” 

They all jumped at the sound of broken wood, Barbara breaking the broom yet again. This time as far over Vendel’s back as she could reach. Blinky had his hands on his hips and was clearly disapproving. Of who it was hard to tell, though really it was of the whole situation. He clearly hadn’t even tried to stop her. 

“Do  _ NOT  _ touch him!” She hissed. “Draal, since he’s already clearly awake, help Kanjigar to the couch?” Draal nodded and helped Kanjigar catch his balance, the human grumbling. “Blinky- JIM! TOBY!” The boys froze at the top of the stairs. “I told you to go back to bed!” 

“How are we supposed to sleep with all the yelling going on?” Jim said logically. 

“How are we supposed to sleep with all the  _ trolls  _ in our living room?” Toby countered. “Your. I meant your living room.” 

“Both of you, go on over to Toby’s house.” She pointed at the front door sharply. “It is midnight on a  _ school  _ night, please at least  _ try  _ to sleep.” 

“Yes Mom.” 

“Yes Doctor L.” 

Both the children snuck down the stairs, dressed in sleeping clothes and not so subtly sneaking glances at the trolls. Aaarrrgghh waved at them politely. They both waved back before bolting out the front door. 

“Blinky, I said  _ five hours.  _ Not less than one.” Barbara turned to him. He held up all four hands in surrender. 

“I wanted to break the news to Vendel as soon as possible with the thought that it may take that long to convince him.” Blinky seemed frustrated. “He wanted to come immediately to see if it was true! Of all the times to bother  _ listening  _ to me...” 

“And wake Kanjigar up, when what he needs right now is  _ rest.”  _ Barbara finished for him and finally turned back to the gobsmacked Vendel. “Humans need eight hours of sleep a night and heavily injured humans can sleep  _ twice as much  _ to recuperate. Kanjigar. Needs. His rest.” Barbara’s eyes were narrowed. 

“I merely wanted to speak with him to ensure it truly was Kanjigar, and not some changeling trick.” Vendel clutched at his staff, glaring back at the human contemplatively. He had to hold his staff tilted sideways in the cramped human house.

“Then you could have  _ waited  _ for a few hours rather than try to force your way into my home and basement!” Barbara glared back. 

“Either way, not a changeling.” Blinky commented, taking back a horseshoe from Kanjigar and tucking it back in a pocket. 

Kanjigar sat on the couch and crossed his arms, resigning himself to being fussed over and lectured. Draal was already nearly hovering over him. Blinky patted him on the shoulder consolingly. 

“Since I am here, and he is awake, I will now examine him. If that’s  _ alright with you.” _ Vendel said mockingly, turning his back to her to approach the troll turned human. Blinky fled out of his path. 

Barbara’s knuckles turned white over the remains of her broom. 

“It’s alright, Doctor Barbara, he does not mean Kanjigar any intentional harm.” Blinky laid a hand on her shoulder, trying to offer her some comfort. 

“Intentional.” Barbara said, trying to loosen up her grasp before she gave herself splinters. She was going to have to get a metal broom. Preferably not a hollow one. “He already poked a second degree burn on one of the most sensitive areas of the human body. I’m sincerely doubting his ability to restrain himself otherwise. And again, Blinky,  _ stress  _ is not good for Kanjigar right now.  _ And he looks stressed.”  _

Kanjigar was tense and had his jaw clenched as Vendel poked and prodded him, one limb at a time. When he flinched at a jab to the chest Barbara tossed her broom pieces down and marched into the kitchen to find a better instrument. 

“Vendel, please,” Blinky rushed forwards in a panic to try and stop this before Barbara noticed the block of knives she could potentially pick a weapon from. “Humans are exceedingly more fragile than trolls, and Doctor Barbara here is a healer! She has said Kanjigar’s injuries are rather severe so do be careful!” He tried to step in between the elder and the human. 

“It’s odd, he does appear to be truly human.” Vendel said thoughtfully, ignoring Blinky completely. 

He pulled some crystals out of his back pouch and picked a golf ball sized one out. He moved it in faint circles over portions of Kanjigar’s body, the glowing color changing slightly in hue with every spot. The parts he was burned and his chest changed hues a bit more dramatically. 

When Vendel moved it over Kanjigar’s head it changed colors _ immediately  _ and strongly, then faded, then changed again. It repeated its bizarre behavior until Vendel lifted it away and shook it curiously. It went right back to its flashing when he waved it over the top of Kanjigar’s head again. 

“Odd.” Vendel sounded faintly concerned finally. “You said he used the Amulet?” 

“Yes, and we can all attest to that, though I’d recommend  _ not  _ testing it again as-” 

Vendel bent down to stare Kanjigar in the eyes with a narrowed look. Kanjigar leaned away with trepidation. 

“What,” Vendel said dramatically. “Was Kanjigar’s reaction when Draal first spoke?” 

Everyone else in the room stopped and blinked. Even Draal looked confused. 

“His first word was  _ Mother-  _ ah, Mother in Trollish Doctor Barbara - everyone knows this Vendel.” Blinky said with an odd expression. “He said it in the center of Trollmarket, there were trolls gushing about it for days.” Draal groaned and buried his face in his arms. 

Kanjigar coughed and cleared his throat. “Actually.” 

“Oh no.” Draal looked above his arm spines fearfully. 

“Draal’s first word was  _ bushigal.  _ I’d said it in front of Vendel and Draal took one look at me, looked to Vendel, then said it almost perfectly with the largest smile on his face.” 

Aaarrrgghh  _ bellowed  _ with laughter, Blinky making an offended noise. Draal gave a horribly embarrassed groan. Barbara looked between the trolls with raised eyebrows. She could guess what sort of word garnered  _ that  _ reaction. 

“And your reaction?” Vendel raised an eyebrow. 

“I laughed.” Kanjigar admitted, squirming. “Then I made you swear to not tell Ballustra, as I’m fairly certain she would have killed both of us. Because you laughed too.” Vendel finally leaned back with a snort. 

“It’s Kanjigar.” He nodded. 

“How have I  _ never  _ heard this story before?” Draal groaned. “And can I never hear it again?” 

“Vendel and I spent hours trying to teach you to say literally  _ anything else  _ before you repeated it in front of someone, namely your mother.” Kanjigar said, a sparkle of mischief on his face. “Teaching you to say  _ Mother and Father  _ was one of the first things we tried. Fortunately, you were willing to go along with it when not trying to chew on the walls of the Heartstone.” 

“What a scam.” Blinky finally chuckled and shook his head. “Well, I can’t say  _ that  _ truly being Draal’s first word surprises me.” 

“And it proves this is truly Kanjigar, as  _ no  _ other being has ever known that tale.” Vendel nodded graciously. 

“And I’d appreciate it if it never leaves this room.” Kanjigar groaned. “As Ballustra  _ would  _ come back to this continent solely to kill me for it.” 

“Indeed she would.” Blinky nodded seriously. “You have my word.” 

“Not a word.” Aaarrrgghh was still laughing from the door. 

“I don’t even know what that word means, but you have mine as well.” Barbara shook her head with a sigh. “If it’s any consolation, Jim didn’t speak until he was three and his first words were the full sentence ‘Louis is a buttface’ after a kid at preschool bullied him for the very act of not speaking.  _ That  _ was quite the phone call to get.” 

All the trolls and the troll turned human turned their heads to look at her with various amused expressions. 

“I’m just saying I get it!” She shrugged. “Kids are weird.” 

Vendel grunted and turned back to Kanjigar. “The question remains,  _ how  _ did this happen?” 

Blinky and Aaarrrgghh both looked to Kanjigar as well, having not gotten this part out. Draal hadn’t quite gotten an explanation either but he was more focused on his father’s injuries. 

“I have no idea.” Kanjigar shrugged, looking embarrassed. “I… don’t remember much, from that day. I recall fighting Bular, we were both…” He frowned distantly. “We were both reaching our limits, the sun was rising… that’s the last I really remember. Things get  _ fuzzy _ at that point.” He looked at the bandages wrapped around his left arm. “I think… I think I fell into the sun, just slightly, at one point. I burned, and got these.” Kanjigar traced the burns on his cheek. “But then… there’s nothing, after that. I don’t even remember being found.” 

“I can fill in the blanks there.” Barbara stepped forward and Vendel reluctantly turned to her. “My son Jim and his friend Toby found Kanjigar burned and injured, as a human, three- no, four days ago. From his injuries it looks as though he was pushed off the bridge and hit the ground hard. Blow to the back of the head, cracked ribs mostly along his back.” She nodded. “We didn’t take him to the hospital because his concussion made him have several outbursts and I didn’t want him taking that giant sword to some poor nurse.” 

Vendel jerked back as if hit. “You  _ summoned Daylight?”  _ He turned his head to glare at Kanjigar. “In front of humans?!” 

“I don’t  _ remember  _ this!” Kanjigar threw his hands up, upset. He was still chastising  _ himself  _ for that. He didn’t need  _ Vendel  _ tearing into him for it as well.

“Regardless!” Vendel clunked his staff down on the floor. “You’ve done a  _ great  _ number of foolish things in your life, Kanjigar, but-” 

“Sir, he had a  _ concussion. _ A brain injury.” Barbara put her hands on her hips and was glaring again. “He  _ can’t _ be held responsible for his actions, because he was not mentally stable or capable-” 

“He never  _ has  _ been mentally capable, with the number of foolish-” Vendel’s snarky response petred out as Barbara stomped away. 

The elderly troll watched, befuddled, as Barbara stomped up the stairs and back down a minute later. She had a picture frame in her hand. 

Barbara threw it to the ground at Vendel’s feet and it shattered noisily. 

“Here. This is my Doctorate.” Her glare was _venomous,_ her tone icy cold but bitingly pleasant. “This is the document proving I’ve spent the past _decade_ learning, serving, and treating human patients in the name of medicine. I don’t give a _rat’s ass_ how old or wise you think you are, _you are not a human doctor._ I am not perfect. I cannot say for _certain_ what will happen if you decide to disregard my professional opinion on Kanjigar’s health. But right now, Kanjigar _is human._ And he is a human with _severe brain damage_ from a _severe concussion,_ amongst other injuries. It is _your_ choice whether you believe my prognosis or not. But, Vendel, was it?” Barbara bared her teeth in a furious smile, the kind she gave difficult patients and rude customers years ago when she waited on tables. “I will _not_ allow you to bring harm to a man under my care, in my home, when he cannot even _walk straight_ and you seem to think he is just fine and dandy.” 

The trolls who had yet to be at the end of Barbara’s fury were staring, slack-jawed. Vendel looked as if he wasn’t quite sure what was happening. 

Draal and Kanjigar were both rather terrified but less so considering they weren’t the focus of her rage. 

“Now.” Barbara’s lips tightened over her bared teeth. “You are going to go back to your Trollmarket. I am going to help Draal get Kanjigar back in the basement and resting where he belongs.  _ If  _ you have further questions, or  _ comments  _ on his health and recovery, you can come again at a time when I have not had  _ ten hours  _ of sleep in the past  _ week.  _ And when you can learn how to respect a  _ trained  _ and  _ experienced  _ medical professional.” Her hands fell from her hips, one in a fist at her side and the other pointed at the back door. Aaarrrgghh backed away fearfully. “Now  _ get the hell out of my house!”  _

Vendel stood there staring for a few more moments before scoffing and shaking his head, stomping out heavily with muttered threats. Blinky stood frozen behind him for a moment longer before scrambling after the elder with an apologetic look at the woman. 

When the trolls finally left her sight Barbara turned to Kanjigar. 

“Are you okay?” She asked seriously. Kanjigar was cradling his chest again with one arm. 

“I could use another ice pack.” Kanjigar said meekly. 

She nodded and went to the kitchen to get one, slamming the freezer door shut harder than she probably should. 

“Kanjigar, I am seriously worried for your health and wellbeing.” Barbara stared him in the golden eyes as she spoke and handed the frozen gel pack to him. “If he comes by again and risks that, I  _ will  _ take issue with him. Regardless of how much of some sort of ‘important leader’ he is.” Kanjigar nodded slowly, wide eyed. “Please  _ try  _ to get some sleep and rest.” She sighed, finally slumping. “I’ll check on you in the morning, but it’s  _ very  _ late.” She yawned slightly. “I might end up sleeping in. Draal- could you wake me up if I end up sleeping to noon?” 

That necessitated a brief conversation about human clocks, but in the end Barbara went up to her room with exhausted footsteps and Draal helped Kanjigar back down to the basement. 

Kanjigar fell asleep nearly the instant he hit the cot and Draal curled up for a long night. 

He had little worry, now, about Barbara’s sincerity in taking care of his father. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen, so far Barbara has given off Massive Troll Mama Vibes so Draal is TERRIFIED of her. Troll Mamas will Fuck You Up. He's like pretty positive she's gonna take the pointed ends of that broom to his eyes. He is Very Surprised that she's letting him stay. Similarly Blinky ALSO thinks she'll go Angry Troll Mama on Vendel so he doesn't realize she PROBABLY wouldn't take a knife to a troll. 
> 
> Barbara Is Fucking Pissed because Vendel is VERY dismissive of humans and also does NOT realize how fragile humans are. I don't mean to paint him as a bad guy in this but he IS a huge jerk when he doesn't like you, and is still a jerk even if he likes you, and Barbara's... stressed. She did not go through ten years of schooling for this goat looking motherfucker to walk into her home and ignore her medical prognosis. 
> 
> The entire scene about bab Draal formed without my input and I cannot Express to y'all the sheer joy and hysteria I felt as I wrote it. (Side note: I know nothing about the books, but I know a few bits and pieces that I get to include into my fic canon, and I like the name Ballustra. Otherwise everything about her is probably purely my hcs.) 
> 
> Jim seems like the kinda kid who didn't speak for ages because he just didn't need to and then finally spoke later on when he Had a reason to. 
> 
> Barbara seems like the Angrily Pleasant sort of furious person. Customer service is a bitch. 
> 
> I HOPE Y'ALL ENJOYED AND SEEYA LATER


	7. Strickler Eats It (Several Times)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How ironic that tumblr asked me what Strickler's role will be, because here he is my fabulous readers. 
> 
> Fluff happens. Exposition happens. I punch you all in the guts with some short feels. 
> 
> When will Kanjigar and Draal get locked in a room until they talk to each other? The world may never know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MAN this qurantine stuff is great ain't it? ain't it? ain't it fun? ain't it lovely having to stay stuck inside?
> 
> I joke, the only difference in my daily life this is causing is making me Change WHERE I'm isolating myself, I'm a shut in. Actually I'm gonna be moving cities to find job opportunities in a few weeks and slamming out schoolwork for this next week so heaven knows when I'll have time to work on this. Can't pay rent or get jobs in tiny ass podunk towns with no opportunities ayyyy
> 
> ANYWAYS IGNORE MY SASS I'm somewhat discontent with this chapter but I did finish it and it's EDITED so despite my reservations I'm releasing it into the void to give y'all something to nom on 
> 
> Brief note that Bular is in this chapter and does his usual Bular things and is a cranky mean old jerk

Whatever the heck happened after Jim and Toby had left made Draal extra jumpy. Jim had barely snuck into the house to drop off breakfast for his mom and Kanjigar when the basement door creaked open and Draal peeked out nervously. 

“...ah. Jim.” Draal said awkwardly. “What are you doing here? I thought your mother had sent you away.” He leaned out the doorway to check the hallway clock. “It’s still… much earlier than Barbara said she would be awake.” 

Jim held up a tupperware container. “I um… I know my mom can’t cook, very well at least, so I made breakfast for her and Kanjigar at Toby’s house. Breakfast casserole, extra cheese. Packed it up for them. Tell her to reheat it in the oven, not the microwave.” He nodded awkwardly and put it in the fridge. “Is… everything okay? You seem kinda… jumpy. ” 

Draal didn’t respond for a moment, glancing behind him down the stairs. 

“Your mother is a terrifying being.” Draal looked back and said seriously, staring Jim in the eyes. 

“Yeah, I kinda knew that already but I’ve definitely been reminded the past few days.” Jim nodded distantly. “I’ve gotta go or I’ll be late for school, but um… have a nice day?” He waved awkwardly as he walked out the front door. Draal’s answering nod was equally as awkward. 

“So?” Toby asked as they pedaled down the street. 

“I think my mom terrified a room full of giant trolls into doing what she said and is sleeping in.” Jim nodded. 

“Sounds like Doctor L.” Toby said thoughtfully. “I hope Kanjigar’s okay.” 

“I  _ doubt  _ Mom would’ve let them do anything to him.”

* * *

Jim couldn’t focus on  _ anything  _ all day. He was still shaken up about Draal, then all the excitement of a bunch of trolls parading around his living room. Most of his teachers didn’t seem to notice - though he fumbled his way through the worst Spanish presentation  _ ever  _ and barely passed - but Strickler had him wait after class again. 

“Mister Lake, a word?” 

Jim closed his eyes and winced, Toby giving him a sympathetic look as he walked to the classroom door to wait for him. 

“Hey, Mr. Strickler.” Jim turned around unenthusiastically. “I’m not in trouble, am I?” He’d fallen asleep in class again. He just… couldn’t  _ sleep  _ after last night. Toby couldn’t either. They’d played video games all night in the hopes the screens would put them to sleep. It hadn’t worked. Jim had given up and started stress cooking around 5 AM. 

“No, but your new classroom habits are becoming concerning.” Strickler leaned against the desk next to Jim, frowning. “You’ve never been one to fall asleep in class before, Jim.” 

Jim slumped against the opposite desk and considered what he could  _ possibly  _ say to this. 

“There’s-” He paused, not sure how to even begin. Obviously he couldn’t tell his teacher about the trolls currently living in his basement. 

“Your mother hasn’t given me a call, did you pass her my note?” Strickler prompted, sounding concerned. 

“Oh no!” Jim slapped his forehead and dug into his bad, pulling the crumpled note out a moment later. “Shoot, I’m sorry Mr. Strickler.” He rubbed his forehead with a groan. “I completely forgot, things have just been…  _ crazy  _ at home lately. I’ve barely even seen Mom since I’ve been staying over at Toby’s house the past few days-” Jim realized how that might sound when Strickler drew back with wide eyes. “Oh my god no-” 

“Jim, are you having trouble at home?” Strickler lowered his voice, eyes wide and serious. 

“No no no!” Jim waved his hands and groaned. “That came out wrong, it’s just-” Jim rubbed both hands along his face with a loud noise of frustration. Words were hard enough when he  _ wasn't _ stressed. “I stay at Toby’s all the  _ time, _ or him at my place usually, so it’s not super out of the normal. We literally live across the street from each other.” Strickler nodded slowly as Jim rambled. “Mom’s just… busy. She’s busy.” He bit his lip, trying to figure out how to spin this. “Someone… we know, yeah, a family friend, he got…” 

Jim tried to think about how to sell this as convincingly as possible. He was in the school play now! He could pull off some acting! All he had to do was think about finding Kanjigar, bloody and burned, laying on the ground and Jim could  _ feel  _ the blood leaving his face. 

“He got hurt.  _ Really  _ bad. A- and he’s been staying at the house, Mom even took off work to take care of him…” Jim looked down at his feet. 

“Does this… ‘family friend’ cause trouble either?” Strickler asked delicately. 

“What? No!” Jim shook his head. “Stop the ‘trouble’ stuff, it’s fine. It’s just… weird. It’s  _ super  _ weird.” 

Strickler looked confused and doubtful. Jim felt himself starting to sweat nervously. 

“They’ve been flirting! A lot!” Toby blurted from the door of the classroom and Jim turned to him with a panicked look. “Like, I’m there all the time too and Doctor L and him have been really flirting with each other and it’s  _ awkward  _ and weird and neither of us know how to deal with it because ew,  _ Doctor L.  _ Flirting!” Toby threw up his hands as he rambled. “And he’s a cool guy and all but I think it’s just weird, you know, especially since the last guy in Jim’s life ditched his family like a total jerk, yanno?” 

Jim shot Toby a betrayed look for bringing up the Forbidden Subject. Toby made an ‘I panicked!’ face and shrugged minutely. 

Strickler’s eyebrows climbed higher on his forehead with every word, seemingly buying it. 

“That is indeed… 'weird'.” Strickler said. “It’s always an awkward experience to see the ones we love connecting with new people, I can’t imagine how stressful it is for there to be a new man in the house so suddenly.” He sounded a little awkward but it smoothed out. “But, Jim, if your mother is truly interested in this man and he does not cause ‘trouble’, then perhaps you should allow her to do what makes her happy?” 

“Maybe you’re right, Mr. Strickler.” Jim said quietly. 

He  _ had  _ noticed his mom giving Kanjigar Looks. It wasn’t like they were  _ lying.  _ Jim was a little conflicted on the ‘secretly a magic troll knight’ part but… so far Kanjigar hadn’t done anything bad, not outside of the first few concussion episodes. If his mom tried to genuinely flirt with Kanjigar, Jim supposed he’d have to just deal with it. 

“And look at it this way, Jim,” Strickler laid a hand on his shoulder with a light laugh. “She’s taken some days off! Even if she spends it busy taking care of someone else, if she’s enjoying herself that’s exactly what you wanted the last time we spoke.” 

Jim chuckled and smiled up at him. “I guess so. She should still get some sleep herself, I don’t think she’s slept hardly at all since he started sleeping in the basement.” 

“Then perhaps you should tell her this, young Atlas, or the world will begin to crush you with worry. You're far too young to hold so much weight on your shoulders.” Strickler looked up as the late bell rang. “Will you two need a late pass?” 

“No, we should be fine Mr. Strickler, we’re headed to gym next and we always leave the locker room last anyways.” Toby grinned as Jim rushed to grab his stuff and leave. “I’ll make sure to remind Jim to give his mom your note.” 

Strickler nodded at the two teenagers as they bunched together. 

“Maybe I should tell Mom to listen to her own medical advice,” Jim told Toby on the way out. “She’s always telling  _ Kanjigar  _ he needs to rest, but she almost never gets any herself.” 

“Oh that’s ripe coming from you!” Toby laughed. 

Neither of them noticed Strickler’s eyes widen as he tripped over a desk and the classroom door closed behind them before they saw him eat linoleum.

* * *

“There’s been a brief gnome problem down in Trollmarket as of late, but hardly anything to worry about.” Blinky assured, sitting in the armchair. 

“Gnomes are _ real?”  _ Jim bounced his knee as he sat on the couch, Toby next to him. Kanjigar sat at the other end of the couch and shook his head at their excitement. 

“Vile little vermin, they are.” Kanjigar chuckled at their doubtful looks. 

“Aaaand nothing to worry about, right now, Master Kanjigar!” Blinky said nervously. 

“I’m asking about how Trollmarket is in the hopes that you are  _ honest  _ with me, Blinkous.” Kanjigar crossed his arms with a dry look. 

“And I’m rather terrified Doctor Barbara will think I am unnecessarily stressing you out.” Blinky said bluntly, hands clasped together. 

“If I think Kanjigar is stressing himself out in a simple conversation about work, I’ll take it up with him.” Barbara said with a snort from her seat at the dining room table. 

Aaarrrgghh was sitting across from her and chowing down on a stack of VCR tapes. Toby had a hard time deciding which trolls to focus on but apparently updates on Trollmarket were more interesting than watching the big one eat plastic. Barbara had some difficulty explaining some of them were off limits, mainly old home videos, but it wasn’t like she had anything else the endless Disney VCRs were good for these days. 

When Blinky and Aaarrrgghh had shown up the following night Barbara had half a mind to tell them to  _ leave.  _ She’d resisted when she saw Vendel wasn’t with them this time. 

Fortunately Blinky had taken her words to heart and was doing his best to avoid stressing Kanjigar out, even with talking about the Trollhunting duties he couldn’t do while laid up at the Lake house. Seeing Kanjigar nearly teeter over when coming up out of the basement had probably helped them understand her worries. 

Draal still hadn’t left his side. She was considering if she’d have to offer some VCRs to him as well to get him to eat something. Which, really, was an odd sentence but she figured she was going to have to adapt to trolls sooner or later. 

“Jim, your timer you set is almost to one minute.” Barbara glanced at the egg-timer next to her laptop. She was going through some work emails herself. She was  _ supposed  _ to be on 'vacation', but she was as much of a workaholic as Kanjigar seemed to be. Something they both needed to work on. 

“The mac and cheese!” Jim jumped off the couch and ran to the kitchen, checking the oven. Since Kanjigar had expressed such interest the boys had quite literally fought over what sort of human foods he should try next. The ‘classics’ were slotted first. 

Jim started doing something with sausage and barbeque sauce once he had the mac and cheese cooling on the counter and Barbara considered the possibility that Kanjigar was going to forever have a skewed concept of human cuisine. Jim’s cooking was unbelievable and she  _ still  _ couldn’t figure out how to use the toaster properly. He certainly hadn’t gotten his kitchen skills from her. 

“I didn’t expect to be cooking for so many so I don’t think I made enough mac, uh, that is… if trolls can even eat it?” Jim glanced down at the skillet he was cooking on and the pan of mac and cheese from scratch. 

“Probably not, young Jim,” Blinky pointed a finger up. “Most human foods are  _ not  _ easy on a troll’s digestive tract, seeing as our bodies are adapted to eating metals, plastics, fabrics, and far more durable things than human foods tend to be.” 

Barbara made an understanding noise and propped her chin on her hands. “So it’s less an  _ inability _ to digest human foods, and more of a situation that trolls digest human foods  _ too well,  _ which causes indigestion and discomfort to say the least in humans. Presumably it has a similar effect in trolls.” 

Toby made gross faces at the topic, Kanjigar and the rest of the trolls looking baffled. 

“Precisely!” Blinky beamed. “It is also typically a matter of taste, most human foods taste rather horrendous to trolls, as I’m sure most troll delicacies are disgusting to human taste buds.” 

“Taste is primarily an evolved sense that helped us as a species decide what to eat, a way humans learned to detect poisonous plants and animals.” Barbara commented. “While some human tastes can be… weird, typically taste is geared towards ‘what is edible to me’ so it makes sense.” 

Blinky nearly vibrated in his spot. “Truly? Trolls are capable of eating almost  _ anything,  _ though there may be some digestive upset, and it’s difficult to actually  _ poison  _ a troll. Taste has no evolutionary importance in troll culture or habit, in fact different tribes of trolls have vastly differing tastes. A Conundrum troll such as myself would perhaps enjoy some human foods, while a larger Krubera like Aaarrrgghh much prefers tougher objects.” 

“Try human foods.” Aaarrrgghh nodded sagely. “Gross.” He chomped on another VCR pointedly. 

“What kind of troll is Kanjigar, normally?” Toby looked at the human sitting next to him and then Draal, laid on the floor next to his father like a giant puppy. “Does he have spikes too?” 

“Oh no, I’m a mountain troll.” Kanjigar waved a hand. “Very common, rather mixed… it’s something of a slang term for ‘generic’. Draal takes almost entirely after his mother, he only gets his colors from me.” 

Draal looked up at the items Aaarrrgghh was eating finally. “What are those?” 

“Plastic, tape.” Aaarrrgghh nodded. Draal made a face. 

“Prefer glasses and crystals, no thanks.” 

“A wonderful point! He has a remarkable picky palate for a troll, no offense." Blinky waved a hand carelessly. Draal rolled his eyes. "He gets it from his other half - Draal’s mother is what’s known as a Spire spine troll, known for the exceedingly unique trait of the crystal spines growing along their backs and limbs.” Blinky recited. “It makes sense that a more crystalline troll would need glasses and crystals in his diet.” 

“Spire crystals, very dangerous.” Aaarrrgghh nodded, just happy to be included in the conversation. “Scratch, go boom.” The humans drew back or paused in their tasks to give Draal a look. 

“Spire spine legend says that the first of their kind crawled out of actual spire crystals, made up of the gems themselves and bearing them upon their backs.” Blinky contributed, cheerfully oblivious to the confusion the concept of Draal blowing up was causing. 

“Kanjigar mentioned it, something about being filled with energy?” Barbara tilted her head thoughtfully. 

“Spire  _ crystals  _ are something like what humans call batteries, though they grow from the earth filled with their energy.” Draal twisted his head to look at the crystal spines on his shoulders. “Mine aren’t really…  _ proper  _ spines, they’re too dull even when at full power.” 

“Full power?” Toby leaned forwards. Kanjigar had to pull the back of his shirt before he fell off the couch. 

“Spire spines don’t need Heartstones like normal trolls, they carry their energy with them.” Draal shrugged. “It’s dangerous, a fight with a Spire can end in both trolls blowing up, but it’s useful. We gotta eat the energy we need though, and we can’t just get it from normal troll foods. Well, I’m only half Spire, so I don’t need it as much as others. And I’m a lot more durable since I've got more stone to buffer my crystals.” Barbara relaxed a bit at the reassurance that her house wasn't going to become ground zero for a troll related explosion. 

“They must either eat natural Spire crystals to fill the reserves along their backs or find some other alternative source of energy.” Blinky confirmed. “I believe some power shortages for humans in recent times have come from rogue Spire spines who visited a power plant rather than risk the dangerous crystal mines.” 

“I put a stop to those trolls as soon as possible.” Kanjigar grunted, looking displeased. Then he glanced at Draal’s spines and frowned. “When  _ was  _ the last time you had any proper crystals?” 

“The last time Jungell was in Trollmarket and got kicked out again.” Draal rumbled in amusement. “I’m fine, running low but I’ve got a few stashed for emergencies.” 

“You should eat them, your spines are supposed to  _ glow.”  _ Kanjigar, dare they say it,  _ fretted.  _ Draal drew back in slight surprise. “What? Don’t give me that look.” 

“He  _ glows?”  _ Toby said awed, squishing his face in his hands and successfully distracting everyone from Kanjigar's odd behavior. 

“Quite spectacularly if freshly refueled!” Blinky clapped his hands. “But I believe… where were we before we got distracted?” 

“Troll tastes.” Barbara commented. 

“Ah yes!” He nodded. “I believe Draal’s picky preferences are closest to human reason for evolving taste, spire spines are the only trolls who have assigned types of energies  _ tastes.  _ Otherwise, trolls don’t naturally have many words in our vocabulary for flavors. Certainly not nearly as many as humans!” 

“That’s incredible!” Barbara’s eyes widened with fascination. “Language evolves as a need more often than not, so that implies trolls don’t taste very much or put importance on tastes-” 

“As  _ intriguing  _ as this conversation is, whatever Jim is making smells delicious, and I’d really like to try some of it.” Kanjigar stood up slowly and started to make his way towards the kitchen. 

"Kanjigar, sit down!" Several voices chorused.

* * *

"Father…" Draal said a few hours later, curling up and preparing to settle into his watch for the night. "Are you feeling… alright?" 

"Fine." Kanjigar frowned, sitting on his cot and propping his arms on his legs. "Still rather out of it but I'm not near as bad as I was before." 

"No, I mean…" Draal snorted in frustration and then buried his face in his arms to avoid looking at his father. 

_ 'Are you feeling okay, Father? You're showing me affection and paying me attention and I'm not used to that so I think something's wrong with you!' _

Oh yes,  _ that _ would go over rather well with him. 

"Draal?" Kanjigar said with faint worry. “What is it?” He rubbed the bandages across his arm idly. 

“I… It’s nothing, just worried about your wellbeing.” Draal deflected. He wasn’t lying, not really, right? He was worried about a lot of things right now. 

He shifted so that he was curled away from the cot, steadfastly ignoring his father’s confused gaze. 

Kanjigar watched his son, confused, but somewhat relieved that Draal was distancing himself as well. It still made him feel a pang of guilt. Far stronger than distancing himself from his son had ever caused before. It crawled down his throat and nearly made him speak up and insist. 

He laid down and pulled his blanket over himself, rolling onto his side to avoid staring at Draal’s spines. He had to think about this. 

Draal had to stop himself from sighing in disappointment when Kanjigar didn’t try further. Perhaps… it was too late, to mend whatever rifts they had between them.

* * *

“You’re late.” Bular growled lowly, making Strickler’s skull vibrate. 

“I was occupied.” He deflected waspishly, not in the mood to deal with Bular’s attitude. “Besides, I was waiting on another package.” 

The Gumm-Gumm ripped the package from his hands and he sighed, watching as Bular brought it to the growing bridge. 

“Soon the bridge will be complete… and my father will be freed.” Bular snarled. “What of the Trollhunter? Has there been news?” The Prince turned his head to glare at the changeling. 

Bular’s story of watching Kanjigar the Courageous covered in light and turning  _ human  _ of all things had been… bizarre. Strickler hadn’t truly believed it, believing Bular’s foul mood had been due to the Trollhunter defeating him in combat. 

But now… now perhaps there was more proof that Bular hadn’t simply cracked a bit too far. 

“There is… possible evidence,” Strickler said warily, then dodged Bular grabbing for his throat. “We don’t know anything yet! I’m going to investigate-” 

“You saw him.” Bular snarled, crouching low to the ground and watching him like an alligator watching its prey. “You did not believe me before, and now you’ve  _ seen  _ him.” Bular chuckled lowly. “Where?!  _ Tell me  _ where so that I may hunt him down and rip his head from his shoulders!” He made another lunge. 

Walter barely dodged him and cleared his throat. “You cannot act so rashly when we do not know how he has come upon this ability! For all we know he-” 

“The Amulet of Merlin has given many abilities to Trollhunters before, do you forget the Trollhunters have withstood sunlight before?” Bular stalked a circle around him, looping closer. “Turning its user  _ human  _ in the sun is not even  _ close  _ to the strangest thing it has done.” The trol snorted loudly and shook his head. “Maddrux proved that the Amulet holds many unseen powers.” 

Strickler turned, keeping his front to Bular, listening carefully for the cue he knew would give him an out of this conversation. 

“But this is  _ new.”  _ Strickler insisted, trying to keep his hands from twitching towards his weapons and making himself a threat. Bular was simply  _ playing  _ with him right now. He didn’t want to make the Gumm-Gumm actually  _ mad.  _ “We don’t even know how the Trollhunters have achieved their past abilities, who’s to say Kanjigar isn’t able to use those as well? Who’s to say he’s  _ stayed  _ human?” 

“Indeed, why  _ would  _ the Trollhunter allow himself such a weak,  _ fragile  _ form?” Bular slunk closer, baring his teeth. Strickler resisted the urge to hiss back as the troll cackled knowingly. “Tell me where you saw the Trollhunter!” Bular moved far quicker than Strickler expected and he was pinned to the floor, cracking his head on the tile painfully. “So that I may  _ rip  _ him limb from limb while he is tiny and  _ weak!”  _ Bular’s crooked fangs grinned inches from Strickler’s face, drool dripping in his face. 

“I didn’t  _ see  _ him!” Strickler tried, cringing away with a grimace from the slime. “I heard a mention of his name from some human, but I did not have a chance to pursue the lead-” 

_ “What?”  _ Bular’s claws pressed heavily into Strickler’s shoulders and he winced. 

“Hey-!” Finally, much later than Strickler was expecting, a human voice echoed through the large room. “What-” 

“You were  _ followed?”  _ Bular’s claws drew blood and Strickler scoffed. 

“No, I brought you a midnight snack.” He hissed back. 

Bular narrowed his eyes at the changeling before growling and foregoing the changeling for a chance at a proper meal. 

Strickler stood up shakily, rotating his shoulders. 

“A pity, I liked this jacket.” He muttered as he examined the holes. Blood dripped from them slightly. 

The sound of a human scream echoed through the halls and Strickler turned away, looking for the apple he’d dropped earlier. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jim and Toby's school lives have been perfectly normal if highly distracted during all of this. Jim signed up for the play as a way to get to know Claire anyways, tho Strickler in this case did pop up and kindly give him that final push of encouragement bcz Jim was gonna chicken out. (Toby was teasing him about it. Now Tobes has to sit at the theatre and wait for everyone to get done with practice before he and Jim can go home now, haha suck it Tobes) 
> 
> The fact that Strickler ate shit is one of my fav parts about this chapter, I love him 
> 
> Anyways so this chapter was halfway just me finding a way to vent my ideas about troll biology. I have so many hcs and theories about troll species let me have this. 
> 
> DRAAL, KANJIGAR, I S2G I meant for them to have a Father Son Talk this chapter but instead they were like "nah cut to Bular and Strickler" and i was just "OH GODDAMNIT" 
> 
> Also! The timeline's been pretty iffy so far, but I've done my best to line the fic up to where I think the fic's gotten. And yes, Bular Saw Kanjigar Change. Some of y'all caught onto the fact that he had to have seen it and I'm so glad y'all are clever little suckers! 
> 
> Anyways writing Strickler and Bular interacting is a new favorite thing, Nice. They're so snarky and they bicker so much. I've never before understood why some people ship them and now I do. 
> 
> ANYWAYS AGAIN I hope y'all are staying safe and cozy in all this quarantine madness! I'm doing my best as well, do ur part to help keep everyone safe! Love y'all and have a lovely night my beans


	8. Mama Bear Mode Activated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barbara swears if the universe doesn't stop giving her new children to adopt she's not going to have a house left. She'll be the old lady who lives in a goddamned shoe at this point. (She's not actually complaining, she just wishes her children didn't have so many issues.) 
> 
> Kanjigar also has to face some of the consequences of his actions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'ALL I s2g, I don't write fics, the characters write it themselves and I just type it out. And LET. ME. TELL YOU. Kanjigar has made writing this fucking chapter a PAIN IN THE FUCKING ASS. 
> 
> BUT IT'S HERE. AND IT'S GREAT. 
> 
> HOPE Y'ALL ENJOY

Barbara woke up with a yawn when she heard familiar thudding footsteps of Draal trying to go up the stairs quietly. Even down in the basement he was just too loud. Not for lack of trying, definitely, but the stairs weren’t meant to hold… however many pounds of weight a solid stone troll was. A ton? More? Less? She was half asleep, she shouldn’t be trying to do math. 

She wasn’t exactly pleased to be woken up, rolling over and seeing the time on her bedside clock was pretty early. Barbara stretched slowly and sat up with a groggy squint. What  _ was  _ he doing up at this hour? She had started going back to work in the past few days. While she was doing better about her working hours she'd still gotten back  _ way  _ too late last night to be up this early. The sun wasn't even up yet. 

His heavy footsteps creaked even louder on the stairs to the second floor and she hurried out of bed. Draal didn't like to come upstairs and tried to avoid it whenever possible. If he was making the hassle of a trip it was for a reason. 

"Draal?" Barbara poked her head out of her room curiously, hoping Jim and Toby hadn't been woken up by the noise. "What is it-?" She almost added a 'sweetie' to the end without realizing it but hesitated at the last moment. She wasn’t sure he would appreciate or even understand the phrase. 

Then she took a closer look at Draal's face poking halfway up the stairs and left her door to go to him. 

He looked lost, upset. And maybe she didn't always remember it but she remembered right  _ now  _ that Draal was by troll standards only a young adult, several hundred years or so. 

"What's wrong?" Barbara was tempted to place a hand on his cheek but considered it might not be welcome. 

"I just… came to tell you I was leaving to go to Trollmarket, for the day." Draal said haltingly, sounding unsure and as if he couldn't believe what he was saying. "I need to leave before the sun rises. You and Father will be protected by the sunlight while I'm gone." He was tense and hunched in on himself. 

Barbara actually drew back in shock. "What? Why?" Draal had barely left Kanjigar's  _ side  _ during the past week. She couldn't imagine why he was leaving  _ now.  _

"I- my father," Draal ducked his head somewhat. His eyes went to the floor and she could see resentment in his face. "He insists that I need to go find food appropriate for a Spire spine troll." He said bitterly. 

Oh she  _ recognized _ that look. That was the look of a teenager who'd been turned away and knew it, who  _ knew  _ it wasn't fair, but who wasn't going to fight it anyways. It was the same sadness and frustration she saw in Toby when he got his PE grades, the same bitterness and confusion in Jim when he wasn't included with other teenagers or just didn't  _ understand  _ something. 

"Honey," Barbara walked to the top of the stairs and sat down. She ignored Draal's slight confusion at the nickname. "Did you get in an argument with Kanjigar?" 

Draal paused and then grumbled some growly sort of noise, looking away. "...I wouldn't say it was an  _ argument, _ exactly…" 

"Do you want to talk about it?" Barbara said softly, hands folding in her lap. "I won't tell him whatever we talk about if you don’t want me to." 

Draal seemed torn, glancing downwards as if Kanjigar could hear them. Barbara knew for a fact human ears shouldn’t be able to reach that far. 

"It's- it's nothing new, just…" Draal wilted halfway through his attempt to deflect her. "Father… has pushed me away for decades, ever since he became the Trollhunter. I don't… I should just accept it and get used to it," He was quieter than Barbara had ever heard him. "But I just want to  _ be there  _ alongside him. He allows Blinky and Aaarrrgghh to help him, why not me? Am I not good enough to fight with him? Now he wishes me to leave his side when he is more vulnerable than he's _ ever  _ been before-" 

Draal snorted loudly and shook his horns in an odd swinging motion. Barbara resisted the urge to reach out and hug him. She might not be a troll but she could recognize a miserable kid when she saw one. 

"I'm sure he has his reasons, even if they might be rather stupid." She said softly, racking her brain for how on earth this could have happened. Kanjigar  _ loved  _ his son. It was obvious in everything he did and said. He spoke about Draal like he was his pride and joy. 

...then again, that was only when Draal wasn't present. And the most she'd heard Kanjigar talking about his son was when he was still under the worse effects of his concussion. 

What was it Kanjigar had said, goodness- it wasn't even two weeks ago and it felt like it'd been a year. 

"Whatever reason it is, perhaps it  _ is _ best if I stay away." Draal laid gently across the top of the stairs, setting his head on his arms. 

"No!" Barbara gave in and rapped his forehead sharply with a knuckle. Draal drew back, more shocked than actually hurt. "Don't give up on him, trust me, your father  _ loves  _ you as much as any father could love his son." Draal looked up at her in amazement. "He-" Barbara sighed, biting the inside of her cheek. "He once told me that he would give  _ anything  _ to keep you safe, to keep you away from the… Trollhunter's burden, or something like that. I got the feeling he wasn't close to you but I didn't realize it was because  _ he _ pushed you away." It brought a whole new meaning to the longing and what she now recognized as regret when he asked about her and Jim. 

She shook her head. She was going to  _ talk  _ to Kanjigar about this. He clearly didn't understand how his actions were affecting Draal. If he  _ did  _ know, she was going to- well she didn't know, he was still injured so slapping him was off the table. She'd figure something out. 

"And I would give anything to keep  _ him  _ safe." Draal said, sounding pained. "Before… before it was mostly about glory, about being able to say I was the  _ Trollhunter's son,  _ about showing him how skilled I was." Draal's hands flexed, claws digging into the wooden staircase. Barbara flinched when they splintered and he withdrew them with an apologetic growl. "But- I've always  _ worried  _ for him. The Trollhunter's job is until death, and Trollhunters rarely last long." 

Draal huffed loudly in distress and her hair flew backwards with the force of it. She tried to tuck her hair behind her ears and wished she'd grabbed her glasses. Draal was  _ just  _ blurry enough she couldn't tell, but it looked as if his eyes were suspiciously shiny. 

"My father has lasted long for a Trollhunter. Every week I feared if he would soon die and the Amulet move on to the next, thinking it could only choose me. And now that he came  _ so close  _ to it, that he was injured so badly and changed into  _ this-"  _ Draal waved an angry hand in the direction of the basement, then paused. "Um, no offense." 

"None taken." Barbara smiled with a small laugh. "Humans are pretty small and squishy next to trolls." 

"Exactly." He huffed again, more relieved she understood his frustration. "All of this happened and made me realize my father almost  _ died.  _ Being the Trollhunter is a great honor and responsibility, but it is a deadly one. And I want to  _ help him _ so that I can always say I'm the Trollhunter's son, not the  _ former  _ Trollhunter's son." 

The more Draal spoke the faster he spoke, sitting up and claws twitching like he wanted to dig them into something. Barbara was fascinated to watch him speak out his own thoughts. It was possible he hadn't even really come to this conclusion himself yet, that he was only just now putting his own feelings into words. In fact it was  _ probable  _ with the way Draal's face showed every emotion flashing through him right now. 

It settled on determination and Barbara couldn't help a fond smile. She hadn't known him for long, and she was  _ never  _ letting him live down how she'd first met him, but she was growing attached to Draal ridiculously fast. She couldn't tell if it was because of his concern and loyalty for his father or how much he reminded her of her own two sons, but he made her want to hug him and never let go. 

"You are right to tell me to not give up on him, Lady Barbara. I will remain at my father's side." He smiled toothily at her while she turned a little red at the title. "My father thinks to distance me but it will be harder than he thinks." 

Barbara laughed and held her arms out. Draal looked at her, faintly confused. 

"It's a hug, come on, I know you've seen me hug Jim and Toby." She grinned and waved her hands enticingly. 

"I was unsure if it was solely a familial gesture," Draal admitted awkwardly. 

"For some people it can be, but you can hug anyone you want." Barbara nodded firmly. "It's a way of giving comfort, showing affection, all kinds of things. So come here and let me express my affection and support of you, kiddo." 

Draal hesitated but leaned forwards and she hugged his head carefully, for all that it was bigger than her torso. After an awkward moment he relaxed and pressed into the hug and even nuzzled her back a bit. Barbara squeezed tight before letting go and drawing back, glancing out the window. 

"Having said all that, as a doctor I do agree with you not taking care of yourself properly.  _ Blinky _ eats more when he visits and unless you've been eating things in the basement I haven't noticed, you've hardly eaten anything all week and I don't think that's healthy for a troll your size." Barbara said firmly and poked his nose. Draal drew back sharply when she did and crinkled his nose up adorably. 

"It's hardly so bad!" He grumbled. 

"The way the other trolls have been eyeing your spines since it was brought up says otherwise." Barbara folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. 

"I'd still rather not leave and leave your home vulnerable." Draal said grumpily. 

Barbara hummed admittedly. "Fair point, but trolls can't go out during the day. What could happen?" 

"There are far worse things than trolls out there, Lady Barbara, and many can walk in sunlight." Draal said, suddenly very, very serious. Barbara swallowed dryly. 

"Like what?" She wrung her hands together. 

"Changelings, stalklings, and far too many more to count." 

That gave her pause. 

"Changelings?" She scratched her chin worriedly. "That… wouldn't happen to be anything like the legends of the fae stealing babies and leaving their own in their place, would it?" She'd been a bit of a fantasy geek in her younger years but it had been a long time since she’d been able to indulge in that sort of stuff. 

"Almost exactly, though fae changelings are very different from troll changelings." Draal rumbled. "The fae are nearly extinct these days, but troll changelings are everywhere. They hide in human form and are immune to the sun. Filthy Impures." He leaned to the side and spat on the stairs. 

"Draal! That's disgusting, don't do that inside the house." Barbara cringed and the glob of troll slobber dripping down the stairs. He made a grunt and seemed mutinous. "Would it make you feel better if Kanjigar and I went across the street to Nancy's house?" 

"Nan- see?" Draal sounded out awkwardly. "You've said that name before." 

"Toby's Nana - his grandmother - lives across the street, I call her by her name but both the boys just call her Nana." Barbara nodded. "She was a spy in- well, honestly a lot of wars if I remember right." Sometimes she swore Nancy said a different one every time. "She's pretty elderly but I think that makes her even more intimidating, truthfully." 

"Elderly warriors are to be respected and feared for their age and experience." Draal nodded thoughtfully. "But I still don't want to leave you two alone, even with further assistance-" 

"Draal, look at it this way." Barbara stood up and propped her hands on her hips. "You can't insist and fuss over others not taking care of themselves and then not take care of  _ yourself,  _ not without looking like one hell of a hypocrite." She laughed slightly. "Trust me, I should know. We'll go over to Nancy's as soon as you're gone, I'll tell Toby and Jim to come straight home from school and they can stay in until you get back. I'll be careful going to and from work. Nobody knows about Kanjigar anyways." 

Draal still hesitated and she huffed. 

"Draal, as a  _ doctor  _ I'm going to insist you at the very least  _ feed yourself _ properly. You can be fast about it and patrol down in the sewers outside the house until it's night again." Barbara set her jaw and stared back at him with equal amounts of stubbornness. 

Draal finally seemed to sway and she waved a finger at him. 

"Think again, how can you protect us when you're barely functioning?" She pointed out. 

Draal gave in, looking reluctant. "I… suppose you have a point." He admitted. 

"Good, now hurry up then." She shooed him down the stairs. "It's starting to get light out and you don't want to run the wire." 

Despite his reluctance, Draal looked far less miserable leaving than he did earlier.

* * *

"Oh you must be Kanjigar!" Nancy grabbed his good hand and patted it, Barbara stifling laughter. 

"Yes," Kanjigar said awkwardly. The walk across the street hadn't been fun, especially when Barbara had forced him into sandals. Torture devices more like. "And you are Toby's grand-mother." 

"Yes I am!" Nancy smiled up at him and adjusted her glasses, eyeing him pointedly. As much as she could probably see anyways. She didn't seem like she had much sight. "Barbara said you two needed to hunker down somewhere safe for the day." She turned and hobbled away. "I'm not one to ask questions when they're not needed so don't you worry about a thing Mr. Kanjigar. Pie?" 

Kanjigar leaned in close to Barbara. "Are you certain she's… reliable? She seems a bit… fragile." He respected elderly warriors, they were very dangerous when forced to bring back their old ways, but she was… not exactly what he’d imagined when she was described. 

For some reason Barbara turned slightly red at his proximity and leaned away looking… embarrassed? Then she clenched her jaw, something conflicted flashed over her face, and she looked rather tense. 

"She's more capable than you think, she keeps pistols in the back of all her china cabinets. Plus I once saw her wack a raccoon with a shovel so hard it was knocked across the street." Barbara folded her arms and looked stiffly at the nearest wooden cabinet filled with delicate looking dishes. 

He supposed that must be the 'China cabinet', though he wasn't sure what the human country had to do with dishes. He also didn't  _ absolutely _ understand what a pistol was, outside of knowing it was a clever projectile weapon humans had been using for a few centuries. Maybe he'd finally get the chance to learn about them now that he had easier access. 

"Very well." Kanjigar said finally, taking comfort in the amulet weighing heavily in his pocket. It helped remind him that he wasn't useless. 

He wasn't supposed to feel abandoned and vulnerable, not when  _ he _ was the one who had purposefully sent Draal away. It hurt to do so but Kanjigar wasn't acting right, wasn't thinking correctly, couldn't rely on himself to respond normally anymore. He needed time to think and clear his mind. He just wished Draal would see the wisdom in staying far away from all the nonsense associated with Trollhunter business. 

"Though, Lady Barbara, what exactly is… pie?" Kanjigar asked, hoping to loosen whatever sort of tension had unexpectedly cropped up between them. 

Barbara snorted and covered her resulting smile with one hand, shaking her head. 

"It's food, come on." She led him to the kitchen.

* * *

It was later in the day when Nancy decided to take a 'nap' that Barbara sat down next to him on the couch, just before she was leaving for work. 

"Kanjigar…" She started and then sighed. "I know it's not really my place to ask, but what's going on between you and Draal? He was very upset this morning." She sounded like she was trying to be neutral but still came off slightly accusatory. 

Kanjigar winced, looking away almost immediately. 

"I… you don't understand the danger, of my position. I just… I need him to be safe, and that means as far from me as possible." He winced again at how defensive he sounded, then couldn’t help but be confused at how he’d blurted all of that out. What was  _ with  _ him just saying everything that ran through his head recently? Kanjigar mumbled a curse under his breath. Deya, he sounded like a whining whelp with how much slipped out of his mouth! He was going to  _ celebrate  _ once this concussion was gone. 

Barbara hesitated and ground her teeth, mouth tight. She was quiet for a moment. 

“I know you’re not thinking very clearly, recently, so I’m trying to not just throw you under the bus.” She gritted out. “And I have to admit I’m definitely biased about the situation myself. I’m a mother, specifically a mother of a son whose father refuses to have anything to do with his son’s life, and seeing you push Draal away makes me  _ very  _ angry.” Her voice was near venomous and Kanjigar sorely hoped to be there the day she saw her former mate again. Though he was also incredibly ashamed at her words at the same time and struggling to understand  _ why.  _

“But you’re right, I  _ don’t  _ understand the situation.” Barbara’s hands were in tight fists. “I don’t know how trolls raise their children or if there’s even the same level of- of- of parental  _ need  _ that trolls have, but Draal  _ misses  _ you. He  _ loves you  _ because you’re his father and you’re pushing him away when all he wants to do is make you  _ proud  _ of him!” She threw her hands up and then covered her face, groaning. “This  _ really  _ isn’t my place to butt in, Kanjigar, but at the very least  _ talk  _ to him?” Barbara stood up with a frustrated sigh and grabbed her purse, slinging it over her arm. “If  _ only  _ because otherwise I’ll have a mopey, pouty troll dragging himself around my house and damaging the drywall.” 

She pointed one tiny finger directly in his face stiffly and then turned around and left. Her steps stomped ever so slightly and made him feel incredibly guilty for causing his host such stress. 

Kanjigar watched her go, feeling adrift. His head was not a fun place to be lately. Sometimes he swore he was thinking properly, perfectly normal, and sometimes he realized he was in fact  _ not at all  _ acting normally and quite impaired. Sometimes he thought everything was fine but later realized he’d been rather ridiculous. 

It was the  _ worst  _ part about this injury of his. Kanjigar was honestly  _ terrified  _ of the fact that his  _ own mind  _ was fraying and as unsteady as his body. He said things he didn’t mean to, he said things he didn’t  _ want  _ to, he just  _ couldn’t stop.  _

Even worse were the moments where he thought everything was fine and he had it under control, only for it to topple over into chaos out of nowhere. Oddly enough… Kanjigar had a bad feeling that was also something that he was feeling from  _ before  _ the concussion. 

He’d had it all figured out. If Draal was not involved in Trollhunter business, if Draal was not close to  _ him, _ then Kanjigar’s inevitable death would deal a far lesser blow. It also helped that Draal would not get caught up in the circle of danger that surrounded every generation of Trollhunter. 

It had hurt at first, but Kanjigar had reasoned it away. He’d convinced himself it was _ fine.  _ Draal was even part Spire spine, nomadic and unattached tendencies were in his  _ blood.  _ He’d shoved away guilt for decades only hoping that his  _ son would be safe.  _

But now that he was human and injured and helpless Kanjigar could not get rid of the guilt and shame plaguing him. He couldn’t tell if it was the concussion affecting him, the human nature and pack bonding they were so prone to changing his mindset, or just the fact that for once he was  _ forced  _ to sit down and think of his actions. It could be all three. 

Kanjigar leaned back on the couch and ignored the strain on his ribs as he sighed. While his injuries hurt less, his head only ever hurt more it seemed. Perhaps it was time for another nap. He usually at least  _ felt  _ like he could think easier after one. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ngl as much as it was like pulling teeth for WEEKS to get that last portion out, I'm SO glad it worked out like it did and I absolutely LOVE this whole chapter. Which is odd! I never end up LIKING the difficult chapters. 
> 
> Draal getting hugged by humans and nuzzling into them makes my heart swoon let my boy hug people and get hugs. 
> 
> Barbara's trying really hard to not be a judgy bitch but Kanjigar's an idiot and she likes her new big spiky son 
> 
> Thanks y'all!!!!


	9. Hey Remember How Nana Was a WW1 Spy?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy howdy is that canon events I see? Yep! And we get a good smattering of background characters showing up this time! 
> 
> In which we should all fear Nana, Kanjigar learns the joy of car sickness, Draal contemplates thumbs, and here be gerblins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHATS UP MOFOS I was super inspired to pick this up and finish up this chapter bcz gold-kobold was working on their fic and like, all of tumblr got suddenly Motivated to work on their own fics. It's great. Mass mutual peer pressure! 
> 
> Okay brief warnings for this chapter include- non graphic throwing up

Kanjigar was woken up from his nap with a snort as the front door slammed open accompanied by several voices shouting. 

He reflexively rolled forwards and summoned Daylight just in time to lose his balance and crash into the small table that sat in front of the couch. 

"Oh man you are  _ really _ bad on coffee tables, aren't you?" Toby's voice woke him up a bit. 

Kanjigar looked up from his position flattening the busted table and blinked dizzily. The two human boys stood in the front door with wide eyes. 

"You had better been shouting like that for a good reason," He pushed himself up with a groan, feeling his ribs ache. They didn't hurt near as bad as they had two weeks ago but they were far from healed. 

"Are you okay Mr. Kanjigar?" Jim, thoughtful boy he was, came to his side to help him stand up. He couldn't help much but it was appreciated. 

"Fine, fine." He felt ridiculously grouchy as he got up. Daylight disappeared into sparkles of light around him while he sat back down on the couch. "Now.  _ What _ is wrong?" He squinted at the boys as they both suddenly yelped and went back to panicking. 

"This green monster-" 

"We were at the museum-" 

"-it looked like a squished pancake!" 

"Wait, wait-" His hand reflexively pinched the space between his eyebrows and Kanjigar supposed it was an ingrained instinct for humans. "Start from the beginning. And  _ calm down,  _ unless someone's life is in danger." 

There was a brief scuffle between the boys that ended with Jim's hand over Toby's mouth. 

"This guy Eli at school found a green blob squished outside his house. He had a picture on his phone but Tobes deleted it." Jim said plainly. "It sounds like it looked pretty freaky, like nothing we've ever seen before outside of a Gremlins movie." 

"And it was slimey!" Toby stuck his tongue out. Jim shook his hand with a gross expression. 

A niggling suspicion formed. "What size was it?" 

"Don't know, uhhh…" The boys traded looks. "Maybe the size of a blender?" Jim shrugged, miming the size with his hands. "And spindly, with long legs." 

That certainly  _ sounded _ like it could be a goblin. Kanjigar braced himself and stood up. 

"Do you know where this blob is?" 

Toby whipped out his phone. "Yeah, I did a project with Eli a few weeks ago and I still have the text with his address." 

"Then once the sun sets, show me where." Kanjigar said seriously. 

The boys blinked in bizarre sync and then burst out with very different comments. 

"Should you be making cross town trips?" Jim blurted, looking concerned. "Neither of us drives. Or has a car." 

"Why not right now?" Toby said curiously. 

Kanjigar ignored Jim's comment and turned to Toby. The boy just blinked at him. 

He turned his head to see the curtained window, sunlight filtering in through the gaps in the cloth covering. 

Oh. Right. 

Well, he felt rather foolish, but Kanjigar shook his head and collected his thoughts. 

"How far away is it?" 

Toby made a strange pumping motion with his fist and danced in his spot. "Yes! Super cool magic mission time!" 

"Seriously, I don't think Mom would let you go on a trip right now-" Jim fretted loudly. "What if something happens?" Toby stopped and thought for a moment. 

"I just want to look and observe this green blob." Kanjigar folded his arms with a grimace, fiddling with the bandages on his left arm. "I have no current intentions of pursuing anything past that, but if it's what I _ think _ it is, this Eli may be in danger." 

The two children seemed to straighten up and take this more seriously at that, thankfully. 

"I still don't know about you walking that far." Jim said firmly, crossing his arms too. Kanjigar raised an eyebrow and wondered if the human realized he was mirroring him. 

"Would you dearies like a ride somewhere?"

* * *

Apparently Toby's Nana possessed the ability to walk completely silently through her house and scare the hell out of everyone by appearing out of nowhere; but  _ also  _ the option to drive them across town in her rather old vehicle. It was much faster than walking, but watching the two boys groan in the back seat Kanjigar got the feeling that vehicles were normally not driven this slow. 

He was still incredibly nervous to see the scenery fly by. Gyres went too fast to even see anything. Being able to  _ tell _ that things were passing him by so fast made his stomach curl up on itself almost painfully. 

There was a strange feeling in his abdomen, twisting uncomfortably. The longer he looked out at the speeding poles and felt the bump of the wheels the worse it got. 

They pulled up next to a human dwelling and Kanjigar undid his ‘seatbelt’ awkwardly, unused to it. He opened the door, climbed out with the uncomfortable experience of sandals making him stumble, and then felt a sudden drop to his stomach. 

“Oh, oof, yikes.” Toby’s hand patted his shoulder as Kanjigar knelt over the sidewalk throwing up. “You know I didn’t peg you for the type of guy who gets carsick?” 

“Probably the concussion,” Jim fretted, helping pull Kanjigar’s hair back before it slipped in the way of the muck coming from his mouth. “Motion sickness is a side effect, I think? Are you  _ sure  _ you don’t want to head back? Or ask Draal for help?” 

“Do humans throw up very often?” He gagged, feeling his stomach start to settle somewhat. No, wait, there was more- 

“Uh, no, not really? It usually means you’re sick somehow. Do trolls not-?” Toby yelped as Kanjigar elbowed him softly. 

“No.” Kanjigar grunted bluntly, wiping his mouth and shuddering. That was an  _ extremely  _ foul taste. Trolls almost  _ never  _ vomited. And it certainly didn’t taste like that burning, vicious taste that made him want to scrape his tongue off. “And we shouldn’t wait for Draal, I want to see and dispose of this before any other h- before anyone else sees it.” Unspoken was that Draal would’ve had to wait until sunset to show up anyways. 

Briefly Kanjigar wondered if he should have informed his son of their trip… but he dismissed that thought. He only had the human children with him because they knew where the spot was and it was very unlikely for danger to pop up during the day anyways. Not in the middle of Arcadia Oaks. 

But they couldn’t talk so freely outside the safety of their own homes, he managed to convey through whispers as they helped him stand up. Nancy stayed in the car obliviously listening to some odd pounding music while the boys bracketed him and looked for the ‘green blob’. 

“Goblin.” Kanjigar finally knelt next to the foul smelling spot grimly. “No doubt. We need to get rid of it before anyone else sees it.” 

“I am  _ not  _ touching that thing.” Jim cringed, pinching his nose. 

“Good, considering goblins don’t take kindly to those who harm their own.” Kanjigar hummed. “They tend to ‘wreak vengeance tenfold’ and their sense of smell is highly advanced, they’ll smell the dead goblin on you for days.  _ If  _ they don’t outright know your face to start with.” 

“Yikes.” Toby whistled, walking around curiously. “Then… who was the unlucky sucker to squish it?” 

“Whoever it is, they’re in a lot of danger.” Kanjigar’s mind raced. He couldn’t stand up against a horde of goblins unless he was at his absolute best. And even then he would’ve been hesitant depending on how  _ many  _ there were. He didn’t know enough right now to truly act. 

But whoever was now targeted by goblins may not have  _ time  _ for him to gather information and put a plan together. As little as he could  _ do  _ right now, Kanjigar was also loath to let the problem just pass him by. A Trollhunter answered  _ every  _ call. He was already behind on so many of his duties due to his current condition. 

And some innocent human boy didn't deserve to die as collateral due to his incompetence. 

"Goblins don't die in the sunlight, but they  _ are _ injured by it. They also detest light of any kind and will not travel until the sun sets." Kanjigar stood up with a determined set to his jaw. "I have until then to figure out means of protecting the humans around here from their wrath." 

He looked down at the disgusting corpse. At least his nose wasn't as sensitive anymore. It stunk, but not enough to incapacitate him with the foul stench. 

"Nana's probably got a shovel in the back of the car," Toby piped up. "And we can stakeout the place? There's lots of bushes and fences to hide behind." 

"You two will not be involved." Kanjigar frowned at the two children. "It's too dangerous." 

"And you're going to what, fight a bunch of goblins when you're still getting dizzy and throwing up randomly?" Jim looked at him askance. 

"Yeah, you need backup dude!" Toby made a pumping motion with his fist. 

Kanjigar faltered at their sudden, all-too-familiar enthusiasm. "A Trollhunter works alone." 

"But  _ why?"  _ Jim said. "Especially when you're injured?" 

Kanjigar put his hands on his hips and glowered down at the boys. They shuffled awkwardly. 

Out of nowhere something poked his back right in the cracked ribs and he cringed over in pain with a hoarse shout. 

"Now now, being independent is all fine and dandy but you can't do _ everything _ by yourself dearie." Nancy's aged voice crackled from behind him as his vision wavered in pain. "Not if you can't hardly stand!" She chided him gently, grabbing him by the elbow and somehow steering him into the car despite being so much smaller than him. He blamed his ribs. 

Damn the human for somehow sneaking up on him,  _ again! _

* * *

Toby apparently found a delivery note left on the house while Jim scooped the goblin bits into a trash bag. Why Nana had a shovel and trash bag in her trunk, he almost didn't want to know. Toby's Nana was  _ scary.  _

But he did help brainstorm the likelihood of the delivery driver having run it over, and plan their stakeout. 

And Jim _ also  _ swallowed his fear and crouched down next to the sewer entrance he knew Draal was watching them through as the sun started to fall. 

"Where have you all been?!" Draal growled dangerously, the noise almost too loud. 

"Shh shh!!" Jim sat down on the curb, trying to cover the glowing eyes where they peeked through the gutter. "Don't be so loud!" Draal huffed and the hot air made his shoelaces fly. "Listen, a kid at school found this gross thing, and we told Kanjigar, and we went and checked it out. Apparently it's a goblin? So we're going to go stakeout the house tonight to make sure our friend at school doesn't get like, eaten or something." 

"He's letting  _ you _ come on a potentially dangerous mission?" Draal didn't even sound suspicious, just  _ extremely  _ doubtful. 

"He didn't want to but Toby's Nana poked him in the side and said he'd need help." Jim thought for a second. "I'm not actually sure if she knows the goblin part or not, but she's driving us back once we get some stuff..?" 

Toby was very enthusiastic about getting to design "stakeout gear" while his Nana seemed to be just trying to load them down with enough food to feed an army. Jim wanted to prepare a better way. 

By getting the giant troll to come with them. 

Draal actually snorted and laughed, the chuckle echoing creepily through the tunnels. 

"The elderly human is right. He can still hardly stand sometimes, he is not capable of fighting a swarm of goblins should it come to that." Draal huffed. "I also do not approve of him leaving the safety of the house when he is still weakened, but my father is unendingly stubborn towards his duties as Trollhunter. I doubt he will be swayed on this. Where is this stakeout going to be?" 

Jim breathed out a sigh in relief that he didn't actually have to convince Draal to come along. It took a minute to explain where Eli's house was, since Draal new Arcadia by its sewers and alleys not street names, but eventually they figured it out. 

Then Toby came out of the house with a tea tray tied to his chest and Jim facepalmed. 

"What? What if they try to eat us? I need armor!" Toby knocked on the pot sitting on his head. 

"Why that and not, you know, your bike helmet?" Jim rolled his eyes. 

Toby opened his mouth, paused, and closed it. He rubbed his chin. "Honestly, because I didn't think of it and it's funner this way?" He smiled sheepishly and Jim laughed. 

"Yeah, feel free but  _ I'm _ just gonna use my helmet." Jim said. Toby shoved him and they started a slap war as they headed back inside. 

Jim only stopped to shoot Draal a thumbs up before going to see if Nana needed any help. The troll squinted and held his hand up in the same gesture, staring at it awkwardly. 

"What does that mean..?" Draal rumbled to nobody inparticular.

* * *

Draal was content to watch the stakeout from the sidelines until something went wrong. Nancy's automobile was parked several streets over and the humans were hidden behind bushes and fences nearby. 

...well, the elderly human was in the automobile and appeared to have fallen asleep but he did not begrudge the elderly their weariness. She was ancient by human standards according to Jim and Toby. 

As the delivery truck showed up and the goblins finally approached, Draal stiffened up. The way they blacked out the streetlights made his spines itch. They were too smart to be as stupid as goblins typically were. He  _ hated  _ dealing with goblins. 

And then there were  _ more _ goblins. And  _ more.  _

Draal was very, very glad he'd accompanied this stakeout because there were a  _ lot of goblins.  _

The humans seemed to be causing some sort of fuss in their hiding spots and Draal hoped that his father was alright, and that the two children did not let their fear overwhelm them. 

And then there was an odd turn, and the goblins began to dismantle the human's automobile instead. 

Draal sighed in relief. They could leave without his father having to fight and stress his wounds if there were no human lives at risk. 

Some of the goblins raised their heads, sniffing loudly. Draal cursed. One of the foul little creatures pointed directly at where the three were hiding. 

"RUN!" Kanjigar shoved the children to get them going as a chunk of the goblins split off and swarmed towards them. 

Draal cracked his neck and dove into the fray. 

In a flash of light Kanjigar was covered in armor and looking… frustrated? 

"Oh blasted- not  _ now!"  _ Kanjigar growled some curses in Trollish as he slowed down considerably. 

Fortunately, Draal burst from the side of the road and skidded to a stop between them and the goblins. He snarled at them and pounded his fists into the street with a feral roar. 

The wave of goblins hesitated, briefly, but they got their nerve as the swarm started to  _ really  _ build up. 

"Draal!  _ What  _ are you doing here?!" Kanjigar's voice was  _ harsh _ and he flinched briefly on reflex. 

"Jim told me you were going on a mission with human children as backup, did you think I'd  _ let _ you go without me?" Draal demanded. "You can't even use the Amulet properly!" 

Kanjigar started to puff up indignantly before the two children each grabbed him by an arm and pulled him along. 

"Argue later please!" 

"Yeah like maybe when there's _ not  _ a horde of goblins trying to eat us?!" 

Draal huffed and followed along, glancing back at the goblins who were unwilling to tangle with him until more of them were available. The automobile the majority of them were destroying was rapidly shrinking. 

They didn't have much time before they were followed.

* * *

In his house Eli Pepperjack, having heard the roar outside, looked out the window with his jaw dropped as a giant blue monster, a big man in glowing blue armor, and two of his classmates sprinted down the street with a mass of tiny green men chasing them. 

He pushed his glasses up and wondered how he was even going to  _ fit  _ this into his conspiracy board.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like Kanjigar decking coffee tables is gonna become a running gag 
> 
> Big Note some of yall may have noticed: without Jim being the Trollhunter, Toby has no motivation to get fit, and no Chubby Tracker. (: 
> 
> Kanjigar still forgets he can walk in sunlight lol. It's mostly the concussion making him carsick, yeah, but I doubt Kanjigar would be fond of car rides anyways. And he's struggling to use the armor because it works DIFFERENTLY for humans, and he's still feeling like shit on top of it. 
> 
> I keep hearing the Benny Hill theme on that last bit lmfao

**Author's Note:**

> If you wanna see what Kanjigar looks like and some shitposting go check out my tumblr @weregreatatcrime and the #Kanjibara AU tag (if you didn't already come from tumblr lmao)


End file.
